Resumo:  for children, Jose Bento MOnteiro Lobato aptly, if not a bit unromantically, described himself as condemned to be the Andersen of Latin America. A careful search of the literature yielded numerous calls fbr serious study of the children’s literature of Lobato, but few actual attempts at research and analysis. Language barriers and methodological problems associated with the task have no doubt contributed to the lack of investigation to date. Lobato’s singular importance in the historical evolution of Brazilian children’s litera? ture, plus recognition of the value of cross-cultural perspectives in educational research constituted major rationales for undertaking this investigation.