Children's Illustration │ Classical Literature

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April 18th is The Nacional Children's Literature Day in Brazil.

The date was chosen for being the birth day of the writer Monteiro Lobato, the greatest writer and pioneer of Children's Literature in Brazil with the Book Series "Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo".

I made this drawing with much love and nostalgia, to pay tribute to this important day and this adventurous group of Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo.

Here, Emilia is the epicenter, representing children's curiosity and the excitement that interesting reading can spark.

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The children represented here, are:

Peter: adventurous and courageous
Emília, the doll: talkative, stubborn and proud.
Narizinho: adventurous, sweet and affectionate girl. Emília is her precious Doll.

There are 23 books in the Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo Collection.

The adventures take place on the site of Pedrinho and Narizinho's grandmother, Dona Benta: an idyllic place, in the interior of Brazil and surrounded by nature and valleys.

The themes are varied, ranging from space travel to Greek myths, but Monteiro Lobato's writing entertains and delights even with themes about Math.

Other important characters are from Brazilian folklore, such as Saci-Pererê (a one-legged boy who plays tricks on everyone) and Cuca (an alligator who is an evil witch).
The characters that always appear are Tia Anastácia (a strong and sweet woman that takes care of the house), Visconde de Sabugosa (a very intelligent, scientist and erudit corn cob puppet wearing glasses and a top hat), as well as the glutton Marques de Rabicó (Narizinho's pet pig that always escapes from Tia Anastácia's pot)