A presença dos EUA na obra infantil de Monteiro Lobato

Abstract

Besides living in a period in which the United States prevailed economically and politically across the planet, Monteiro Lobato (1882-1948) also showed interest and concern about Brazilian identity and the country’s “lagging behind” its powerful neighbor. His view might have been sparked by the time he spent in that country, between 1926 and 1930, as a consular commercial attaché. An analysis focusing specifically on his children’s books shows the author’s undeniable admiration for the material achievements, American productivity, and often the emphasis placed at that time on its film production. There is also criticism and irony. In general, all “Americanist” remarks are balanced − and even overshadowed − by the true universal character of Lobato’s children’s world, in the almost 5,000 pages the author dedicated to them