Mufaro’s
Beautiful Daughters
Author:
John Steptoe
Caldecott
Honor Book
Publisher:
Scholastic Inc/ New York 1989
Genre:
Picture Book, Traditional Literature
Themes:
sibling rivalry, be kind to others, royalty, marriage, shapeshifting
Primary
Characters: Nyasha, Manyara
Secondary
Characters: Mufaro, Nyoka
Summary:
Manyara
& Nyasha are two very beautiful daughters.
When the King proclaims that he wants to find the most beautiful and
worth queen the two girls’ father decides he will take them to the palace. Manyara the angry spiteful one tells her
sister that she will be King and her sister shall be her servant. She then slips away at night so that the King
may lay eyes on her first. Nyasha, her
father Mufaro, and the rest of the wedding party leave in the morning. Both girls come across an assortment of
people along the way. Manyara, the angry
sister, is mean and scolds children and elderly along the way. Nyasha, the kind gentle sister, helps and
listens to these people on the way. Once
they reach the palace, the King knows Manyara is not worthy because of her
malicious ways. However, he knows Nyasha
is kind and gentle to everyone and everything she meets. Can you guess who the King chooses to be his
bride? How does he know Manyara is nasty
and Nyasha is lovely?
I would use this as a multicultural
story any day as well as while talking about traditional literature because this
an original African tale from Zimbabwe.
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