Story Title: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
Author: John Steptoe
Illustrator: John Steptoe
Genre: Folktale
Characters: Mufaro, the father; his two daughters, Manyara and Nyasha; and Nyoka, the snake/king
Summary: Manyara and Nyasha are two beautiful girls with very different personalities. Manyara is jealous and deceitful, while Nyasha is kind and good. One day a messenger comes to their house to announce that the king was looking to marry. Mufaro insisted that both his daughters travel to the kingdom to see if they had a chance to become queen. Manyara sets out early, upsets everyone and everything in her path, and finds that the king is not what she expected. Nyasha is kind to everyone and everything on her journey, and in the end, wins the king's heart.
Comments: This is similar to the story of Cinderella. It carries a very important message that all children should learn. Kindness and generosity always prevail over jealousy and malice. The illustrations are excellent. They blend perfectly with the words of the story and they are a true representation of Africa. At the beginning, it explains that "the illustrations were inspired by the ruins of an ancient city found in Zimbabwe, and the flora and fauna of that region." This is a Caldecott Honor book.
Grade Level: Kindergarten through Third Grade
1 comment:
Lisa
Like you said this book is a great "Cinderella" story, but coming from a different region and culture. It would be a great book to read along and talk about with "Cinderella" story at the same time. Kids could i.e. compare the two and talk about their similarities and differences.
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