Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
An African Tale
John Steptoe

My Rating: 5 out of 5

Genre: Folk tale/Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

John Steptoe's Caldecott award winning book, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, is an African Cinderella story. It was inspired by a folktale collected by G. M. Theal published in his book, Kaffir Folktales.

This modern fairy tale tells the story of Mufaro and his two daughters, Nyasha and Manyara, who are known throughout their village for their beauty. Mufaro is happy and excited for both of his daughters when the king decides to be married, and calls upon the most beautiful women of the land to appear before him. While the girls are equally beautiful, their personalities are opposite. While Nyasha is kind and even-tempered, Manyara is spoiled and mean-spirited. It is Manyara's greed and pride which lead her in her desire to beat her sister to the King's palace to become his wife, and ultimately to her demise.

The story is a great alternative to the hackneyed Cinderella fairy tale. The lessons learned are paralleled: generosity prevails over greed, as well as the Golden Rule - threat others how you want to be treated. While the story is a familiar one, I especially enjoyed this book's rich and warm illustrations. Steptoe's inspiration for his illustrations stemmed from the ruins of an ancient city found in Zimbabwe and the plants and animals of that region; his paintings seem to transport you to the mystical lands of Africa. I would recommend this story for 3rd graders when dsicussing morality - does it matter how you act when no one is looking? It is also a great piece of multicultural folklore from which students can benefit.