CAPOEIRA—it's a game, a dance, a martial art! It's a way of expressing oneself through movement and music. With action-packed photographs and accessible text, readers are introduced to this exciting, popular game. At Mandinga Academy in Oakland, California, a group of girls and boys practice the acrobatic moves of capoeira. Then they begin to play games to the infectious, rhythmic beat of traditional music and singing. On to Brazil to experience capoeira in its historic birthplace, where it dates back four hundred years. Capoeira developed as a way of fighting among enslaved Africans, was outlawed by the government, and was permitted once again in 1930 as a martial art and game. Back in Oakland, at an end-of-year ceremony, students receive their colored ropes indicating their levels of accomplishment. They also look forward to next year, and the fun of expressing themselves through the game, dance, and martial art of capoeira.
GEORGE ANCONA is an award-winning author and photographer of books for young readers. His vivid photographs invite children to enter into new cultures and explore new ideas. Ancona has more than one hundred twenty books to his credit and has won numerous awards, including the Pura Belpré Award, Américas Award, and a variety of notables. He first became interested in capoeria after seeing it played on the streets of Brazil, his wife's homeland. Ancona lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Updates Available: Updates Available: Update available for Picture Gallery Module