THE FIGURE OF THE ELDERLY PERSON IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE: A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE BOOKS GUILHERME AUGUSTO ARAÚJO FERNANDES AND VÓ, PARA DE FOTOGRAFAR!

Abstract

This article aims to analyze how old age is represented in children’s books published in Brazil in different decades. For this, the research discusses concepts related to old age from authors such as Beauvoir (2018) and Baltes (1987), and analyzes the illustrated books: Guilherme Augusto Araújo Fernandes (1984) and Vó, para de fotografar! (2017), which also allow a reflection on generational relationships and memories. With possession of the literary corpus, an analysis is made relating aspects that approximate and differentiate the books and how the elderly person is portrayed in the verbal text and in the illustration. The results show that the current book breaks with stereotypes related to old age, while in the oldest book, there is the presence of characteristics traditionally associated with the last phase of the life cycle. However, both have an important value, since old age is composed of a group of natural persons, although they may have some similar aspects.