Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (novel series)

Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (literally translated and roughly known as "The Yellow Woodpecker Farm" or "The Yellow Woodpecker Ranch") is a series of 23 fantasy novels written by Brazilian author Monteiro Lobato between 1920 and 1940. The series is considered representative of Brazilian children's literature and as the Brazilian equivalent to children's classics such as C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia and L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series. Lobato's single original adult fiction, a sci-fi novel entitled O Presidente Negro ("The Black President") set in the far future, would not achieve the same popularity of Sítio.O Presidente Negro. Um livro assustador Acerto de Contas The concept was introduced in Monteiro Lobato's 1920 novel A Menina do Narizinho Arrebitado, considered the first Brazilian children's book and, was later republished as the first chapter of Reinações de Narizinho 1931, which is the first novel of the actual Sítio series. The main setting is Sítio do Picapau Amarelo, where a boy, a girl and their living and thinking toys enjoy exploring adventures in fantasy, discovery and learning. On several occasions, they leave the ranch to explore other worlds such as Neverland, the mythological Ancient Greece, an underwater world known as the Clear Waters Kingdom, and outer space. Sítio is often symbolized by the character of Emília, Lobato's most famous creation alongside Jeca Tatu.

All the Sítio volumes have been published in other countries, including Russia (as Орден Жёлтого Дятла) and Argentina (as "La Finca del Benteveo Amarillo"). While this two have the whole series translated and adapted, the single volume Reinações de Narizinho was published in Italy, as Nasino. Sítio do Picapau Amarelo has never been translated to English, even though Monteiro Lobato also worked as a translator for numerous foreign novels to Portuguese, such as Tarzan of the Apes,10 Prováveis coisas que talvez você não saiba sobre Tarzan ~ Listas Literárias Muito além dos livros Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the two Pollyanna novels.

Sítio has also been adapted into two feature films in the 1950s and 1970s and several television series, the most popular being Rede Globo's 1977-1986 and 2001-2007 productions.SÍTIO DO PICAPAU AMARELO - 1ª VERSÃO SÍTIO DO PICAPAU AMARELO - 2ª VERSÃO In 2012, an animated series was produced by Rede Globo and Mixer, visually based on the 2001 version.

Globo retained the rights of Sítio do Picapau Amarelo and published the books through its publishing division Editora Globo.LOBATO - Editora Globo In January 2019, the rights of all Monteiro Lobato's works entered into public domain in Brazil.

Background and conception

In 1920, while in a chess match, Lobato's friend Toledo Malta told him the story of a fish that drowned after spending too much time away from the water. The idea became fixed in Lobato's mind, forcing him to write a short tale entitled A História do Peixinho Que Morreu Afogado ("The Tale of The Fish that Drowned to Death"), now reported as lost. This tale inspired A Menina do Narizinho Arrebitado ("The Girl with the Upturned Nose"), published in Christmas 1920.

A Menina introduced the title character Lúcia "Little Nose" and her rag doll Emília (Lobato's most popular creation alongside Jeca Tatu). A Menina was later republished, in the following year, as the first chapter of Reinações de Narizinho ("The Adventures of Lúcia Little Nose"), that introduced the other major characters Pedrinho and the Viscount of Sabugosa, and provided an expanded vision of the Sítio universe. For the ranch setting, Lobato was inspired by memories of his childhood, living in a São Paulo countryside farm with his family. In the characters, Lobato set his own childhood personality and family characteristics. His grandfather, the Viscount of Tremembé, was an inspiration for the corncob-made Viscount of Sabugosa, as Emília features his "stubborn", "bossy" young behaviour.

A Chave do Tamanho and A Reforma da Natureza are original novels featuring Lobato's trademark creation, the character of Emília, intervening in reality and changing the world according to her will. Monteiro Lobato borrowed several stories from the public domain and inserted them in his work. In the novel Peter Pan, Mrs Benta tells her grandsons J. M. Barrie's novel of same name, which she reads in English before deciding to narrate it on her own way. In addition to the fantasy narrative, the series is known for its didactical role on young readers. Several volumes feature the farm characters literally exploring the worlds of Arithmetic and Grammar; História do Mundo para Crianças provides an overview on the history of mankind for young readers, as it is told by Mrs Benta to her grandchildren. In Geografia and Serões de Dona Benta, the old lady teaches Geography and Physical chemistry general concepts.

Main characters

Lúcia "Narizinho" (Lucia "Little Nose") - A 7-year-old girl with a turned-up nose is Benta's granddaughter and Pedrinho's cousin. She is an orphan and lives on the farm with her grandmother. Pedrinho (Pete) - A 9-year-old boy is Benta's grandson and Lucia's cousin. He's a courageous and boy who's keen on adventures. He lives in a big city, and spends his holidays at Mrs Benta's Farm. Emília (Emilia) - Lucia's anthropomorphic rag doll, a gift she received from Nastácia. Emilia is able to talk through some of Doctor Snail's "Talking Pills". She is very opinionated and headstrong. Emilia has the power to change reality at will with her imagination. Dona Benta (Mrs. Benta) - The farm's owner and most frequent 'storyteller'. Tia Nastácia (Aunt Nastasia) - Benta's housemaid and cook. She's a middle-aged black woman who knows a lot of folk tales and is superstitious. Visconde de Sabugosa (Viscount of Corncob) - A puppet made of a corncob, with a high IQ, a love for sciences and a tendency to be over-polite. His ability to talk is never fully explained. Marquês de Rabicó (Marquis of Short-Tail) - A gluttonous and lazy pig. Conselheiro (Advisor) - An old donkey who was taught how to read by the Viscount and now is an eager reader and has developed a wise personality. Quindim (Custard Candy) - A rhinoceros who fled from a circus and was hidden by the children. He teaches them how to speak English which he learned by hearing the British while he was in his homeland, Uganda and is usually quite cowardly. Tio Barnabé (Uncle Barnaby) - An old black man who knows a lot about folk superstitions and works at Mrs Benta's farm. Coronel Teodorico (Colonel Theodoric) - Was a witness at Dona Benta's wedding and is still her best friend. He often visits and has a cup of coffee with her. Elias - A trader and merchant who owns a grocery store in the village. Iara - A river mermaid spirit, that seduces and bewitches men with her singing. Saci-Pererê - a one-legged trickster elf. Cuca - A witch in an alligator's body.

Volumes

Reinações de Narizinho ("The Adventures of Lúcia Little Nose"), published in 1931 with A Menina do Narizinho Arrebitado as its first chapter. In 2012, A Menina was released for the iPad format.Crescer - NOTÍCIAS - Aplicativo de Monteiro Lobato para Ipad Viagem ao Céu ("Voyage to the Sky"). Pedrinho befriends an invisible magic being nicknamed Feather, which he has to wear in the head so people can disguise where he is. This being travels to any place, time, or fictional world a powerful magic powder, the Pirlimpimpim, and Pedrinho finds himself in possession of some as Feather forgets (or intentionally leaves) his knapsack on Pedrinho's bed. Using the powder, Pedrinho and the others take a trip through the Solar System and learn a lot about the planets and get to meet several mythical beings. O Saci ("The Saci"). Pedrinho learns from an old man, uncle Barnabé, how to attract and entrap the mythical gnome Saci, who enjoys playing pranks on farms. After the demonic witch Cuca curses Lúcia, Pedrinho spends a night in the virgin forest with Saci, in order to make the witch bring the girl back. The boy avoids the frightening supernatural beings that inhabit the place, such as the Werewolf (or Lobisomem), the Headless Mule and the Boitatá. Caçadas de Pedrinho ("Pedrinho's Hunts"). Pedrinho hunts down a jaguar and the family is forced to escape from a jamboree of other jaguars that threaten the ranch. In the meantime, a tender rhinoceros escapes from a circus, is found and hid by Emilia the doll. Pedrinho is asked to help find him but is eventually beaten by the doll's greater intelligence and strong persistence. Aventuras de Hans Staden ("The Adventures of Hans Staden"). The tale of the 16th-century German sailor who survived a shipwreck but was taken as hostage by the Tupinamba Indians for two years is told by Mrs Benta to her grandsons over a fortnight of evening meals. História do Mundo Para Crianças ("History of the World for Children"). The best-seller volume of the series, and a favourite of Brazilian historians for its contribution in children's learning. A general vision of history is taught as a series of causos (folk stories) told by Mrs Benta to her grandsons. Memórias da Emília ("Emilia's Memoirs"). Emília takes the Viscount as her personal secretary and starts to write about her life. As she is still young, she exaggerates, which makes every previous story seem different. Meanwhile, a group of English children arrive at the ranch, curious to see the Angel with the Broken Wing. Emília no País da Gramática ("Emilia in the Land of Grammar"). The children come to Grammar Country, where each language has a city and, guided by the bookworm rhinoceros, Quindim, learn spelling, linguistics, the use of dictionaries, and syntax. Aritmética da Emília ("Emilia's Math Book"). Teaches the basics of Arithmetics and Algebra. Geografia de Dona Benta ("Mrs Benta's Geography"). The children are taken by Mrs Benta on a world cruise on board the ship "Terror dos Mares" ("Terror of the Seas"). Lobato describes how the United States and Japan managed to become developed nations quite recently (with the hope that the readers, when adult, would implement the same policies in Brazil). Serões de Dona Benta ("Night Chatting With Mrs Benta"). Mrs Benta helps Pedrinho learn Physics. História das Invenções ("The History of Inventions"). The children become curious to know "how things were invented" and Mrs Benta teaches them. The novel groups inventions according to the part of the body they supposedly "extend" and narrates the lives of famous inventors, like Santos-Dumont, the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison and Guglielmo Marconi. Histórias de Tia Nastácia ("Aunt Nastácia's Tales"). Aunt Nastácia narrates Brazilian folk tales to the children. O Picapau Amarelo ("The Yellow Woodpecker"). The characters of the fables, fairy tales, greek mythology, one thousand and one nights, Neverland, wonderland and Don Quixote decide to move into Mrs Benta's farm. A Reforma da Natureza ("Reforming Nature"). Emilia and the Viscount dabble in genetics, anatomy and endocrinology and eventually create monsters, including a giant flea and a giant legged earthworm. Emilia takes advantage of Mrs Benta visiting a cousin, and transforms plants and animals found at the Farm. Mrs Benta returns and find things beyond recognition. O Minotauro ("The Minotaur"). After the disappearance of Nastácia in "O Picapau Amarelo", everybody goes to mythical Ancient Greece, in a journey to rescue the woman from the Minotaur.