My Sweet Orange Tree

Zezé Vasconcelos is the 7-year-old son of factory workers and fourth in a family of five children. Their family is simple and poorly educated, but Zezé is different: he’s sensitive, precocious, and is a talented young storyteller. And he’s trouble! Nothing gives him more pleasure than transforming his neighbourhood into a setting for his mischief. Although his sister Glória knows he has a good soul, Zezé has no allies and is mercilessly subjected to beatings. Things worsen when his dad loses his job. The family stops talking, his mum is exhausted from her extra shifts and food becomes scarce. His frustrated dad spanks him more and more. Zezé’s only way out is to get into even more trouble!
Zezé uses his huge imagination as a defence against all this violence. He chats with a bird that lives inside his chest and takes his little brother on walks through a pretend zoo in their backyard. But he finds his dearest source of refuge in a simple yet beautiful imaginary construction: a talking Sweet Orange Tree, a small sapling he calls «Minguinho» («Buddy»)....