collections and the first periodicals for children appeared, among others O Dico-Tico,
founded in 1905 by the Minas journalist Luis Bartolomeu de Souza e Silva. For several
decades this magazine was a source of fun and learning for generations of children.
In 1921, the publication of A menina do narizinho arrebitado, edited by Monteiro
Lobato et al., inaugurated a new phase of books for children, which critics consider
more ‘literary. Lobato created the figure of Donna Benta, a superlative narrator and a
leading character in his celebrated book La granja del pájaro amarillo where half-real,
half-fantastic characters enrapture children and make them think; for in his books
Lobato includes historical events, makes literary intertextualities, and so on. His works
were intended to enrich the language and the world view of Brazilian children. He also
made use of folklore, approached in various ways by his different characters—some
lower-class, such as Donna Benta, others highbrow, such as Aunt Anastasia and Uncle
Bernabé. Lobato believed that children should be exposed to real facts; he believed in
their intelligence and perceptive powers, hence the multitude of subjects in his books.
His works are still alive, partly due to the fact that he was not oblivious of the problems
of his time, fantasy notwithstanding.
After Lobato, realism was a major current, featuring formerly taboo subjects such as
sex, death, war, homosexuality, family quarrels and social problems. Writers in this
group include Wander Piroli, Henry Correia de Araujo, Luis Fernando Emediato, among
others. There is also a sub-group of authors not entirely committed to realism, but who
use it as a starting point; Carlos Marigny and Odette de Barros retake a line initiated by
Viriato de Correa in 1920. But the most successful genre was magical realism where
fantasy is used to illuminate or transform facts. The Italian Gianni Rodari (1920–1980)
initiated the idea of modifying fairy tales: among other writers in the same genre are
Fernanda Lopes de Almeida, Eliardo Franca, Ana María Machado, Ruth Rocha, and
Bartolomeu da Queiroz.
Lygia Bojunga Nunes is a leading fantasist, perhaps the most widely known writer for
children within Brazil and abroad since 1982 when IBBY awarded her the Andersen
medal. She has written two kinds of books: animist works such as Los compañeros,
Angélica, El sofá estampado, modern fables in which human-like animals use irony to
denounce the evils of society; and works where magical realism goes hand in hand with
the oneiric and the extra-sensory, exploring the psyche without disregarding social
reality. Among these are La casa de la madrina, where a child undertakes a mystic
journey to flee from poverty; El bolso amarillo, the story of a girl who keeps in her purse
frustrations, longings, and disillusionments that keep her from dealing with real life; La
cuerda floja, where a girl has to uncover her parents’ story; Juntos los tres, where three
human beings are confronted by an incredible and dreadful situation; and Mi amigo el
pintor, in which a boy investigates the suicide of his friend, a painter.
Lygia Bojunga Nunes is typical of the way in which contemporary Latin-American
authors are exploring more universal, yet untraditional, themes.
In Brazil, there is a strong group of author-illustrators, and around forty publishers,
some producing up to fifty titles annually. Among the more outstanding are
Melhoramentos and Atica (São Paulo), Miguilim (Belo Horizonte), and Salamandra (Rio
de Janeiro).
THE WORLD OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE 875