''O Fantástico Mistério de Feiurinha'' is a children's book by Brazilian writer

Pedro Bandeira Pedro Bandeira de Luna Filho (born March 9, 1942) is a Brazilian award-winning and best-selling children's novelist and poet, best known as the author of the ''Os Karas'' hexalogy of mystery novels which comprise '' A Droga da Obediência'' (19 ...

. The work was published by Editora Moderna in 1986 and received the

Jabuti Award The red-footed tortoise (''Chelonoidis carbonarius'') is a species of tortoise from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average as adults, but can reach over . They have dark-colored (nearly black), “loaf”-shaped ...

for children's literature.

Book's Overview

''O Fantástico Mistério de Feiurinha'' takes place in a time after the end of fairy tales. Written by Bandeira and with illustrations by Avelino Guedes, this book mixes well-known

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, e ...

with the story of Feiurinha, a character created by the writer. Thus, the protagonists of some of these tales get together to discuss what would have happened to Feiurinha, who disappeared and nobody knows where she is. The fear of the characters is that the “happily ever after” of each one of them is also compromised, since Feiurinha disappeared after the promise of a happy ending. However, none of them remembers the story of Feiurinha or who wrote it. Therefore,

Snow White "Snow White" is a German fairy tale, first written down in the early 19th century. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'', numbered as Tale 53. The original title was ''Sneewittch ...

sends her lackey to a writer, who is the narrator of the book, to find out what happened to the missing princess.

Reception

''O Fantástico Mistério de Feiurinha'' received critical acclaim upon release, which resulted in it winning the

for children's literature in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. Literary critic Lucila Garcez considered this to be a very original piece of fiction, in which a narrator/character, in the first person, reports unusual events, creating a plot full of humor and interspersed with allusions to traditional stories. For her, the book enriches the line, already well explored in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, of productions that revisit the tradition of fairy tales in a transformative way. That is, it has a metaliterary structure that unveils the creative process in a playful and fanciful way, in order to reveal a reflection on the perenniality of fairy tales and the oral tradition of storytellers. For critic Laura Sandroni, the book reiterates Pedro Bandeira's interest in oral tradition and is a proclamation of faith in the written word, considering that the story was unknown to everyone for the simple fact that no author had yet narrated it in a book. According to her, Feiurinha is a heroine who is a friend of Snow White,

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

and many others, but not registered in research by Perrault, the

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

. Sandoni also points out that the author satirizes traditional fairy tales, discussing their classic happily ever after ending. The critic analyzes that this phrase would mean the eternal sameness and the loss of the sense of adventure in life. However, Literary critic Eriana Dantas stated that she failed to appreciate the book as other readers did because of the emphasis on female rivalry and the princesses' physical appearance. However, the reviewer considers that the book is well-written and pays tribute to fairy tales and the writers who told and retold such stories, in addition to bringing a beautiful message about the importance of the written word, more lasting than the spoken word, and about the custom of storytelling from the oldest to the youngest. In addition, the book was adapted for cinema in a 2009 film starring

Xuxa Meneghel Maria da Graça Xuxa Meneghel ( , ; born Maria da Graça Meneghel on 27 March 1963) is a Brazilian TV host, actress, singer, and businesswoman. Nicknamed "The Queen of Children", Xuxa built the largest Latin and South American children's ente ...

and titled ''

Xuxa em O Mistério de Feiurinha Xuxa em O Mistério de Feiurinha () is a children's film directed by Tizuka Yamasaki and starring Xuxa Meneghel. It is adapted from the book ''O Fantástico Mistério de Feiurinha'', written by Pedro Bandeira. Famous princesses of books and cl ...

.'' However, the film version usually received unfavorable reviews.

References

{{Reflist 20th-century Brazilian novels Brazilian children's books 1986 novels