Picturebook Tio Flores

Cultural and Environmental Territories for Art Education

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the picture book Tio Flores: uma história às margens do rio São Francisco (Uncle Flores: A Story on the Banks of the São Francisco River), by Eymard Toledo, as a pedagogical object within the field of Art Education, with an emphasis on the themes of cultural identity and environmental education. To achieve this goal, the adopted method consisted of a theoretical-analytical study that investigated the concepts of picture book and the relationship between text and image based on the reflections of Sophie Van der Linden (2011), while also considering the historical and educational context of the riverside communities along the São Francisco River. The analysis was further grounded in Paulo Freire’s (2013) critical pedagogy, in Nilma Lino Gomes’s (2012) contributions regarding ethnic-racial issues and curriculum decolonization, and in Dayana Vieira de Rezende Silva’s (2023) perspectives on environmental awareness. The book Tio Flores demonstrates significant pedagogical potential by portraying the protagonism of a riverside family that resists the pressures of capitalist progress, offering multiple possibilities for educational practices aimed at valuing local culture and fostering critical environmental awareness. As a conclusion, the study highlights that, although Tio Flores is an award-winning and artistically acclaimed work, it remains little explored in academic research. Nevertheless, it proves to be a relevant resource for contemporary education, especially for its articulation of art, identity, and sustainability from an interdisciplinary and emancipatory perspective.