Steptoe, J. (1989). Mufaros beautiful daughters, an african tale. New York, NY: Scholastic.
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is a beautifully illustrated book written and illustrated by John Steptoe. It is a Caldecott Honor Book and well-deserving. The illustrations are very detailed with many warm colors used.
This story takes place long ago in an African village. The main characters are two sisters, Mufaro's daughters. Manyara, the antagonist, a rude and hateful young lady who feels she is entitled to be queen. The protagonist, Nyasha, is kind, hard working and helpful. While working hard in her garden, Nyasha encounters and befriends a small garden snake named Nyoka. Eventually, the king of the village decides he is ready to take a wife. Mufaro wants both of his daughters to have this chance, however, Manyara steals out late in the night so that she may have a headstart on Nyasha. On her journey to the city, she comes across a hungry young man and an advice-giving old woman, both of whom she is incredibly rude to. When her family finds her missing the following morning they begin looking for her. They also stumble across the two characters on the path and Nyasha is kind and giving to them both. Once they reach the city, Manyara runs out of the castle in terror, frightened by the five-headed monster inside. Nyasha then ventures to find the monster, all she finds is her serpent friend Nyoka. Nyoka reveals himself to be the king. He also tells Nyasha that he was also the hungry boy and the old lady and thanks her for showing him kindness and compassion and asks her to be his wife.
Orginally I was drawn to the cover of this book, which is absolutely beautiful. After reading it I was intrigued by the parallels between this text and Cinderella. Every year I teach a unit about Cinderella stories from around the world. This will be a great addition to that unit. It can be used to compare and contrast the two stories. It also has the key elements of a folktale so would be great for introducing folktales.
Some big questions for students to ponder are:
How is this story similar/different from Cinderella?
Which of the sisters would you rather be friends with?
What lesson or moral can you infer from this book?
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