Violeta Figueiredo

Violeta Crespo Figueiredo, born in the mid-20th century, combines her experience as a television scriptwriter with that of a secondary school teacher (she holds a degree in Romance Philology). However, this does not fully account for the variety of working lines explored within the significant number of books she has already published for children. (It should be noted in passing that the author, now retired from teaching, has also dedicated herself to historical research, particularly in the region of Figueira da Foz, her hometown, resulting in various articles.) Indeed, while A casa da floresta, a collection of short texts with a poetic flavor, is aimed at the 5-6 age group, Os donos da praia, a short novel with ecological and pedagogical intentions, targets readers aged 7-8. Eram férias e havia sol (Prémio Verbo/Semanário), which was followed by Mistérios em tempo de aulas, falls into the category of adventure books (10-12 years), although they are more successful in capturing environments, characters, and feelings than in the mystery of the plot itself. However, it was as a poet (her book Fala bicho won the 1991 Inasset/Inapa Children's Literature Unpublished Works Award, promoted by the National Culture Center) that she earned the prominent place that undoubtedly belongs to her in Portuguese children's literature. The originality of her texts, dominated by personification, puns, and plays on alliteration and assonance, is remarkable, distinguished by the curious and lucid way in which situations are presented where humor (sometimes nonsense) intertwines with lyricism. This line of work has been extended into other books of visible quality such as O gato do pêlo em pé. Also noteworthy is the peculiar vocation of some of the author's texts for the picture book aimed at early ages, of which Portas e Portões are excellent examples. Selective bibliography: Marilu Micifu (1981), Lisbon: Plátano; A história das portas (1979), Lisbon: Plátano; Eram férias e havia sol (1990), Lisbon: Verbo; Mistérios em tempo de aulas (1991), Lisbon: Verbo; Fala Bicho (1992), Porto: ASA; A casa da floresta (1994), Porto: Desabrochar; Os donos da praia (1995), Lisbon: Verbo; O gato do pêlo em pé (1997), Lisbon: Caminho; A excursão dos gambozinos (2001), Lisbon: Gailivro; A verdadeira história da Formiga Rabiga (2001), Vila Nova de Gaia: Gailivro; Gambozinos marinheiros (2002), Vila Nova de Gaia: Gailivro; Tempo maluco (2003), Vila Nova de Gaia: Gailivro, 2003); Portas (2008), Porto: Porto Editora; Portões (2008), Porto: Porto Editora. Author of books for children and youth. Holding a degree in Romance Philology from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon, where she also completed a course in Pedagogical Sciences, Violeta Figueiredo was a secondary school teacher. She attended various screenwriting seminars and workshops, both in Portugal and abroad, led by screenwriters such as Suso D’Amico, Sergio Vecchio, Ray Jenkins, Gill Dennis, and Kerry Crabbe, among others. She has written over a dozen titles for children and adolescents, some of which have been published abroad. She was also a scriptwriter for Rádio Televisão Portuguesa on programs such as «Rua Sésamo», 1st and 3rd seasons, and «Terra Instável», and has contributed to specialized magazines. She won the Verbo/Semanário award in 1990 for her book Eram férias e havia sol, and in 1992 the Inapa/National Culture Center award for unpublished children's literature with the book Fala bicho.