Colasanti published more than 70 books between 1968 and 2017, including works of poetry, collections of short stories and children's literature, and won Brazil's prestigious Prêmio Jabuti multiple times.

Her family moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1948[2][4] due to the difficult conditions in Europe after World War II.

[6] Colasanti began painting as a teenager, and entered the National School of Fine Arts in 1952, where she specialized in etching.

[8] After the editor in charge of the children's section was detained under Brazil's military dictatorship, Colasanti was asked to step in.

[3][10] Colasanti published an orignal short story in Jornal do Brasil, where she worked as an editor, which sparked her interest in writing and rewriting fairy tales.

[4] The book, a collection of original fairy tales which also featured her own illustrations, saw great success, and was also published in France, Spain, Latin America, and the United States.