Monteiro Lobato facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Monteiro Lobato
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Lobato c. 1920 at Companhia Editora Nacional
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| Born | April 18, 1882 Taubaté, Empire of Brazil |
| Died | July 4, 1948 (aged 66) São Paulo, Brazil |
| Pen name | Monteiro Lobato |
| Occupation | Novelist, journalist, publisher |
| Genre | Fiction, Children's literature |
| Literary movement | Modernism |
José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato (born April 18, 1882 – died July 4, 1948) was a very important Brazilian writer. He is most famous for his children's books, especially those set on the fictional Yellow Woodpecker Farm. Besides writing for kids, he also wrote many stories for adults, translated books, and was an art critic. He even started one of Brazil's first publishing companies, called Companhia Editora Nacional. Lobato was born in Taubaté, a city in São Paulo, Brazil.
About half of his writing was for children, and these books are known for being both educational and fun. His other half of writing included novels and short stories for adults. While these were less popular, they were still very important for Brazilian literature.
Monteiro Lobato's Amazing Stories
Most of Monteiro Lobato's children's books take place on the Yellow Woodpecker Farm, a small farm in the countryside. The main characters are Dona Benta (Mrs. Benta), an older farm owner, and her two grandchildren. The girl is Lúcia, but everyone calls her Narizinho (Little Nose) because she has a cute turned-up nose. The boy is Pedrinho (Little Pete). There's also a kind cook named Tia Nastácia (Aunt Anastacia).
These real people share their adventures with characters created by the children's imaginations:
- Emília: A sassy rag doll.
- Visconde de Sabugosa: A smart puppet made from a corncob.
- Farm animals like Mocha the cow, Conselheiro the donkey, Rabicó the pig, and Quindim the rhinoceros (named after a Brazilian dessert).
- Characters from Brazilian folklore, like Saci Pererê (a one-legged, pipe-smoking character) and Cuca (a monster).
The adventures often happen in fantasy worlds that the children imagine, or through stories that Dona Benta tells in the evenings. These different worlds mix together, making the stories exciting and full of imagination.
Learning Through Adventures
Many of Lobato's books are educational. Mrs. Benta teaches the children about many subjects that might seem boring in school, but she makes them fun! They learn about:
- Mathematics
- Grammar
- History (both Brazilian and world history)
- Geography
- Astronomy
- Greek mythology
Lobato also shared his own ideas about the world, people, and politics in his books. He was a skeptic (someone who questions things), a rationalist (someone who uses logic), and believed in working together globally. He was against war but also loved his country. He also retold classic stories in a way that children could easily understand, like Aesop's fables, Don Quixote, and Peter Pan.
He was very imaginative. In books like A Chave do Tamanho (The Sizing Switch) and A Reforma da Natureza (Reforming Nature), he explored what would happen if everyone suddenly became tiny, or if Emília and Visconde could change animals and plants using scientific methods. These stories often had surprising or even wild results!
Monteiro Lobato on TV
Monteiro Lobato's books became very popular TV shows in Brazil. There have been five different TV series based on the Sítio do Picapau Amarelo adventures:
- One in 1952 on TV Tupi.
- Another in 1964 on TV Cultura.
- A third in 1967 on Rede Bandeirantes.
- A very popular one on Rede Globo in 1977.
- The most recent live-action version started in 2001, also on Rede Globo. This version is known as "Pirlimpimpim" in some other countries.
In 2012, Rede Globo and Mixer produced an animated series inspired by Lobato's children's books, bringing his characters to life for a new generation.
Lobato as a Journalist and Publisher
Lobato was also an important journalist and publisher. He wrote regularly for many newspapers and magazines. He was also a respected art critic. In 1919, he bought Revista do Brasil, one of Brazil's first cultural magazines. In 1920, he started his own publishing house. Later, he helped create and became a partner in two other major Brazilian publishing houses: Companhia Nacional and Editora Brasiliense.
Lobato was very passionate about Brazil's natural resources. He believed that the government should manage the exploration of iron and oil in Brazil. He publicly fought for this idea between 1931 and 1939. Because of his strong views, he was even arrested by the government in 1941. His movement, called O Petróleo é Nosso (Oil Belongs to Us), was very successful. Later, in 1952, the president Getúlio Vargas created Petrobras, a state-owned oil company, partly due to this movement.
Lobato also founded a cultural magazine called Fundamentos, which was published from 1948 to 1955. He passed away in São Paulo in 1948.
Monteiro Lobato's Ideas
Monteiro Lobato had many interesting ideas about the world:
- He thought English should be taught in schools because he believed it was more important than French or Latin. He even had his child characters learn English in one of his books.
- He believed that Brazil's natural resources, like oil, should be explored by Brazilian companies, not by large international companies. He wanted the government to support local businesses without necessarily creating a full state-owned monopoly.
- He felt that Brazilian folk traditions were very important for the country's identity and should be protected and celebrated.
- He thought the world was changing quickly, and people who couldn't adapt would struggle.
- He believed that scientific research could lead to big changes in nature, and that these changes needed to be managed wisely to avoid problems.
- He thought that wars happened because of corporate greed, people not caring enough about politics, and racial prejudice.
Discussions About Racism in His Work
After his death, Monteiro Lobato has been discussed regarding how black people are shown in some of his books. In 2010, a Brazilian educator tried to stop the book Caçadas de Pedrinho from being used in schools. This was because some parts of the book used language and descriptions that were seen as prejudiced. For example, in the book, Aunt Nastácia is described in ways that some people find offensive.
Some academic studies have looked into Lobato's writings and letters. One study from the Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Sociais at the Rio de Janeiro State University suggested that Lobato held some racist views. They pointed to a letter where he expressed disappointment that Brazil didn't have a group like the Ku Klux Klan, and compared Brazil to the United States, saying he was glad the U.S. wasn't "a second Brazil." These parts of his work have led to important discussions about his legacy.
Monteiro Lobato's Books
Here are some of the books Monteiro Lobato wrote:
Children's Books
- A Menina do Narizinho Arrebitado (The Girl With the Turned Up Nose) (1920)
- Reinações de Narizinho (Adventures of Lucia Little Nose) (1931)
- Viagem ao Céu e O Saci (Voyage to the Sky and The Saci) (1932)
- Caçadas de Pedrinho and Hans Staden (Pete's Hunting and Hans Staden) (1933)
- História do Mundo para as Crianças (History of the World for Children) (1933)
- Memórias da Emília and Peter Pan (Emilia's Autobiography and Peter Pan) (1936)
- Emília no País da Gramática and Aritmética da Emília (Emilia in the Grammar Country and Emilia's Math Book) (1934)
- Geografia de Dona Benta (Mrs. Benta's Geography) (1935)
- Serões de Dona Benta and História das invenções (Night Chatting With Mrs. Benta and Histories of Inventions) (1937)
- D. Quixote das Crianças (D. Quixote of Children) (1936)
- O Poço do Visconde (The Viscount's Well) (1937)
- Histórias de tia Nastácia (Aunt Anastacia's Tales) (1937)
- O Picapau Amarelo and A Reforma da Natureza (The Yellow Woodpecker Farm and Reforming Nature) (1939)
- O Minotauro (The Minotaur) (1937)
- A Chave do Tamanho (The Size Switch) (1942)
- Fábulas (Fables) (1942)
- Os Doze Trabalhos de Hércules (The Twelve Trials of Hercules) (2 vols) (1944)
Adult Books
- Urupês
- Cidades Mortas
- Negrinha
- Idéias de Jeca Tatu
- A Onda Verde
- O Presidente Negro
- Na Antevéspera
- O Escândalo do Petróleo and Ferro
- Mr. Slang e o Brasil and Problema Vital
- América
- Mundo da Lua and Miscelânea
- A Barca de Gleyre (2 vols)
Images for kids
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Letter from Monteiro Lobato to President Getúlio Vargas, criticizing government actions about oil exploration in 1940. From the Brazilian National Archives.
See also
In Spanish: Monteiro Lobato para niños
