In Game of Freedom: Mestre Bimba and the Art of Capoeira (also published in Spanish as Juego de libertad: Mestre Bimba y el arte de la capoeira), Duncan Tonatiuh immortalizes Manoel dos Reis Machado (1899–1974), more commonly known as Mestre Bimba. Bimba’s contributions to capoeira, the Brazilian jogo (game) that “combined music, fighting, theatrics, and dance,” helped to transform the tradition from “a persecuted Afro-Brazilian cultural expression into a celebrated art practiced by millions around the world.” In this picture book, Tonatiuh’s style is immediately recognizable, but he also innovates artistically in ways unique to this text; the most stunning example is the use of shadows to pay homage to enslaved Africans in Brazil, who were both originators of the art form and Bimba’s ancestors.  

Tonatiuh’s signature style (drawing inspiration from pre-Columbian art traditions) is stark, and part of what is so arresting about it is the stillness of the images: each page in his work is a carefully crafted tableau, and the eyes of his characters seem to stare at you directly. While some of Tonatiuh’s early books are about dance, his more recent publications do not center movement, so I was interested to see how his style would work to depict such an active subject. Tonatiuh writes in Game of Freedom, “Capoeira players are never static” — nor are his illustrations. They are captivating and dynamic, and the exaggerated articulation of limbs captures the “theatrics” of capoeira. The impossible arrangements of the drawn figures (e.g., perfectly straight legs and arms and a curve of one person’s body that could only be accomplished without bones) allow the illustrated characters to achieve forms that real-life capoeiristas strive for. A spread of a repeated pair of figures used to show one of Bimba’s ground-breaking capoeira sequences effortlessly translates the fluidity of the performance to the page. Every page is also adorned with Tonatiuh’s usual, enchanting, stylized details including spiral hair and fists and symmetrical spreads.

While Tonatiuh has won several Pura Belpré awards for his work (among numerous other awards, many of which he's won multiple times), he has never been awarded a Caldecott. Beside having such a distinctive style, Tonatiuh is an outstanding storyteller for young audiences, sharing fascinating stories not widely told in mainstream American society that have relevance to contemporary readers (published in English AND Spanish, to boot!). Every detail, down to the texture he incorporates into his artwork, communicates something about the story he tells. In Game of Freedom, the subtly collaged images of cobblestone streets, fabric of capoeiristas’ dress, and materials of their instruments bring a sense of realness to the story that would be difficult to achieve otherwise, but you might not even notice the collage without a closer look. Even if you haven’t seen capoeira (or you’ve only seen it in Bob’s Burgers...), you feel as if you have experienced it reading this book. This offering from Tonatiuh is particularly important, since it tells the story of a significant Brazilian figure and cultural tradition, specifically one developed and made popular by Black Brazilians. In both the English and Spanish editions of the book, Tonatiuh also incorporates Portuguese words and terms important to capoeira and Bimba’s story. We need more stories in children’s and young adult literature that center Brazilian individuals and Brazilian culture (accurately and respectfully), especially as the Brazilian American population grows.

[Read The Horn Book Magazine review of Game of Freedom]