THOUGHTFUL CHILDHOOD: MONTEIRO LOBATO AND EMILIA'S MEMOIRS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BRAZILIAN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

Abstract

This article analyzes Monteiro Lobato's contribution to the consolidation of Brazilian children's literature, highlighting its historical, cultural, and pedagogical relevance. The study presents an overview of children's literature in the early decades of the 20th century, a period marked by moralizing translations and a lack of works focused on the reality of Brazilian children. In this context, Monteiro Lobato emerges as a pioneer in creating narratives aimed at the national children's audience, with accessible language, authentic characters, and themes that combine fantasy, knowledge, and social criticism. The analysis of Memórias da Emília (Memoirs of Emilia, 1936) reveals the fusion between author and character, since Emilia represents Lobato's alter ego, manifesting his irreverence, critical thinking, and reflection on his own writing. The rag doll, in narrating her memories, breaks with the traditional patterns of children's narrative and acquires autonomy, becoming a symbol of the author's creative and intellectual freedom. Thus, Lobato's work transcends the limits of children's literature, becoming an instrument for shaping thought and valuing imagination as a force for transforming reality.