|
|
|
|
|
There is a special writer for Brazilian children: Monteiro Lobato. Until present, the magic world of his books continues opening gates, in fact as magical "pirlimpimpim dust" was really existed: a magical powder that, on his stories, was capable to lead everybody anywhere wanted to go. Go until the Lobato´s imagination kingdom is quite easy. This place is on an old small farm, surrounded of great and old trees, with one little river in the deep one: Yellow Woodpecker Small Farm.
There, on a old rocking chair, we find Mrs. Benta, the grandmother. She counts histories that explains and teaches on the world anda mankind developments for their grandsons, Pedrinho and Narizinho. Who is always around is Emília, the speaking doll. Smart, she always gives an opinion and has a skill to scape of all confusions that goes in. Through histories of Mrs. Benta, we go knowing the world. Its history and geography; or maybe, we can follow Hércules, in his 12 heroic works in Old Greece. We can, still, know Peter Pan, Dom Quixote and Sancho, Hans Staden, or then, learn a little on strange countries of grammar and arithmetics, that seems not so disagreeable thus, in the end. On breaks, with a small jump in the kitchen we can prove one of beautiful eatings of Aunt Anastácia, the black cook, hearing her histories of brazilian folklore and on simple people of Brazil. We can too go to talk with the Sabugosa Viscount, a maize spike that, after falling behind the library, kept the knowledge of books under its cartola - starting with a tablet of logarithms. Beyond these, many other different friends are in the small farm: the little pig Marquis of Rabicó, the Speaking Donkey and many others. As well as its personages, Lobato also grew in a place in the fields. He was born in 1882, at a time where people majority on Brazil still lived in the inward, when still there were slaves on great farms, all of them planting coffee, the main Brazilian product. Juca, as Lobato was called, beyond his sisters had the childhood of that time: going up on trees, taking river bath and playing with animals made with sabugo of maize and green papaya. His grandfather, the Visconde de Tremembé made Lobato, that wanted to study Belas-Artes, to study Right, but this was one of the rare times where it yielded. Later, he was known as a man who had strong opinions and that he was very capable to fight for them until the end. This was important, because later, besides writing for the children, throughout its life Monteiro Lobato would fight a lot on Brazil grew. On that time, everybody said, for example, that Brazil only had to plant and it did not have wealth on its subsoil. Between 30 and 40 decades, Lobato was one of the first ones to say that Brazil had natural wealth, oil and iron, and that it had to explore it, so that its people could have a better life. Therefore, he became a prisoner, because there was a lot of pressure of American great companies on brazilian government to stop oil and iron research. Lobato also was the first one to assemble two great publishing companies - the National Publishing Company and "Brasiliense" - and was the first to massively print books in Brazil, looking for ways to make books cheaper, so that everybody could read. From 30 decade, upset with pressures on his fight for the oil, Lobato came back to write for children. With the book " Narizinho" (Little Nose), he launchs the Yellow Woodpecker Small Farm and its célebres personages, who gained life throughout other books. Through Emília, Lobato says everything what he thinks; with Sabugosa Viscount, he criticizes the people who find that wisdom is only on books. Mrs Benta is the adult who understands children and accepts the new developments. Already the cook, Aunt Nastácia, are the adult without culture, that has fear of everything it does not know. Narizinho and Pedrinho are the children of any time, opened for the future, wanting to be happy. When died, in 4 of July of 1948, the old Juca boy had written 17 volumes for children, several for adults and translated and customized for the Portuguese nine important books, as Andersen Stories, Alice in the Wonderland, Grimm Stories, Robinson Crusoé and Robin Hood. His histories had been transformed into series into the television and then had become still more known and read. Besides having its name marked in the Brazil history, Monteiro Lobato also constructed with the Yellow Woodpecker Small Farm a pretty place opened for all children visit. It´s just necessary to close the eyes.
|
