Monteiro Lobato, enemy of the nationalist economic policies of the Getúlio Vargas government (1930-1945), used his adaptations of children’s literature in order to insert many of his political, economic and educational ideas. Of particular interest are the retellings of Peter Pan and Don Quixote by the liberal grandmother, Dona Benta, who encourages the children on the Yellow Woodpecker Farm to think for themselves. Monteiro’s alter egos are the naughty rag doll, Emília, who is always questioning and refusing to accept the status quo, and Pedro, who intends to become an entrepreneur when older. His sister, Narizinha, will belong to a new generation of liberated working women. Indeed, the anarchy of both Peter Pan and Don Quixote are appreciated by the children, and the negative comments on Brazilian society in Peter Pan were partially responsible for Lobato’s imprisonment in 1941. Peter Pan was also withdrawn from circulation in the state of São Paulo.
