Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

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Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale

4.26 of 5 stars 4.26 · rating details · 6,960 ratings · 376 reviews

This African tale evokes the Cinderella story in its portrayal of two sisters, spiteful Manyara and considerate Nyasha, and the young king who is searching for a bride. Steptoe has illustrated this modern fable with stunning paintings that glow with beauty, warmth, and internal vision of the land and people of his ancestors.

Hardcover, 32 pages

Published March 31st 1987 by Amistad (first published January 1st 1987)

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Oct 20, 2012 Gundula rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who likes folklore

Shelves: childrens-literature, fairy-tales-fantasy, folklore-africa, picture-books, book-reviews

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tales by John Steptoe is a wonderful African take on the globally-known and ever popular Cinderella story (both the narrative and the illustrations are outstanding and make this a real gem of a picture book, not only for children, but for anyone interested in and appreciative of global folk and fairy tales). While the tale itself (like many Cinderella-type stories) is rather predictable, it is engagingly narrated and the evocative illustrations are simply...more Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tales by John Steptoe is a wonderful African take on the globally-known and ever popular Cinderella story (both the narrative and the illustrations are outstanding and make this a real gem of a picture book, not only for children, but for anyone interested in and appreciative of global folk and fairy tales). While the tale itself (like many Cinderella-type stories) is rather predictable, it is engagingly narrated and the evocative illustrations are simply too beautiful for words. Furthermore, the fact that details of the illustrations are based on the ruins of an ancient city found in Zimbabwe, pays homage to the ancient civilisations of Africa.

One aspect of Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tales that really speaks to me is the fact that (at least in my opinion) there are no absolute villains in this story. Manyara is vain, proud, unhappy and constantly teases her sister Nyasha, but she never tries to actively harm her sister (unlike many other Cinderella-type stories, where the stepsisters or siblings not only make life miserable for the heroine, but often try to harm, even kill the poor girl). And when Mufaro and Nyasha finally arrive in the city, Manyara attempts to warn her sister about the supposed monster. Manyara cares about her sister's safety and obviously could not have known that for Nyasha, having passed the test that Manyara herself had failed due to her pride and vanity, the snake would turn into the king (and become Nyasha's husband).

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tales also rather strongly reminds me of some of the (what I would call) sibling quest tales, where two very different sisters or brothers go on a similar quest, but only one (the virtuous, humble sibling, who shares his/her food and is kind and loving to all) receives a reward. For me, this gem of a folktale is therefore not only a Cinderella story; it also includes strong vestiges of sibling quest type tales and perhaps even suggestions of stories that feature a monster bridegroom (the snake who turns into the king).

While I am very happy that John Steptoe has included an author's note, acknowledging his main sources, the folklore enthusiast in me would have preferred a more in-depth analysis and discussion of origins, sources and similarities; his author's note is quite adequate, but it did leave me wishing for a bit more detail (a more thorough author's note would definitely have made this a five star book for me).(less)

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Jan 31, 2012 Ronyell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: african-books, children-books, cult-classic, drama, fairy-tales-folktales, manners, picture-books, reading-rainbow-book, reviewed-books, ronyell-s-epinions-reviews, summer-100-book-challenge-2010, weston-woods, caldecott-honor, 1001-children-s-books-you-must-read, fairy-tale-romance, read-in-2010, strong-heroine, coretta-scott-king-medal, my-blog-reviews

“Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters” is a Caldecott Honor Book by John Steptoe and it is about how Mufaro’s two beautiful daughters are invited to the king’s palace so that the king will choose a worthy bride, but Manyara, the greedy sister, tries to go off to the king’s palace by herself and meets some disastrous results. “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters” is a magnificent tale that children will definitely read for many years!

John Steptoe has done a magnificent job at both illustrating and writing this...more

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Dec 28, 2008 Monica Edinger rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I should say this is a gorgeous, gorgeous book and Steptoe deserved all the awards and acclaim for it as a work of art. What it is NOT is a book to introduce children to either Cinderella or Zimbabwe. He was inspired by a visit to Zimbabwe to do the story and beautiful it is, but it is absolutely not the way to introduce children to the continent of Africa or Zimbabwe, for that matter. And since the story is one made-up by Steptoe I question using it as an intro into Cinderella stories.

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Mar 24, 2009 Dolly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: parents reading with their children

Shelves: 2009, caldecott-honor, childrens, africa, reading-rainbow, picture-book-club

This is a fabulous tale, full of magic, wonder, kindness, grace and even greed and jealousy. The illustrations are marvelous and really enhance the story. Our girls enjoyed this story a lot and I had fun reading it to them.

This book was selected as one of the April 2011 Royalty themed reads for the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Book group here at Goodreads.

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Apr 18, 2013 Taneka rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s, picture-books, caldecott-medal-or-honor

The story takes place in an African village. Mufaro’s two daughters are total opposites. Manyara was always angry, and Nyasha was always nice. The king sends word that he is to wed and he wants the beautiful daughters from all the land to come before him so he may choose a wife. The king disguises himself as a hungry child and an old woman along the path of Manyara and Nyasha's journey to his kingdom. Which one of the sisters' will prove herself to be worthy of the King's hand?

This was the very...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Cynthia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-book, print-format, character-and-values, manners-and-conduct, african-and-african-american, folk-tale

Summary
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters is an African Tale of a man named Mufaro (moo-FAR-oh) and his two beautiful daughters, Manyara (mahn-YAR-of) and Nyasha (nee-AH-sha). Manyara was mean and hateful, whereas Nyasha sweet, gentle, and kind. Manyara intentions were to become a Queen and make Nyasha a servant because of her jealousy of her sister. When the Great King wanted a wife, he invited all the Most Worthy and Beautiful Daughters in the Land to choose his wife from. After attempts to get her...more Summary
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters is an African Tale of a man named Mufaro (moo-FAR-oh) and his two beautiful daughters, Manyara (mahn-YAR-of) and Nyasha (nee-AH-sha). Manyara was mean and hateful, whereas Nyasha sweet, gentle, and kind. Manyara intentions were to become a Queen and make Nyasha a servant because of her jealousy of her sister. When the Great King wanted a wife, he invited all the Most Worthy and Beautiful Daughters in the Land to choose his wife from. After attempts to get her father to kept Nyasha in the village failed, Manyara left the night before the wedding party was due to leave in order to be the first to get to the King thinking he would choose her for his wife. One her journey through the night, Manyara who is afraid of the dark, was put to test along the way which she failed because of her ways. When the wedding party came though the forest Nyasha was put to the same test and passed them. The King chose Nyasha for his wife and reveal he was people and the snake that was a part of all the test.

Response
This story reminds me of the traditional fairy tale Cinderella. They both have the hero (Nyasha in Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters and Cinderella in Cinderella. In both stories someone is mean to the hero. Nyasha and Cinderella both had to pass some type of test the results in getting the happily ever after. Nyasha not knowing she was being tested was kind to the snake Nyoka (nee-YO-kah), gave food to the little hungry boy, and the old woman in the forest who all turned out to be the Prince. Cinderella had to try on and fit the glass slipper. In the end, Nyasha gets the King and Cinderella gets the Prince.

Classroom Connection
This book has classroom connections Language Arts. I found a lesson plan outlined below at http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/le....
“Provide other versions of the Cinderella story and have students compare them. Possible titles include: Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China retold by Ai-Ling Louie; The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo; The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin. How do these versions differ? In what ways are they alike? How do they reflect the culture they come from?”

Text Complexity
This book is a 720L Lexile measure with a Guided Reading level T. There is an interest level of Grades PreK – 3 and DRA level of 50. Students should be able to read this book by themselves during the beginning of 5th Grade.
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Feb 17, 2013 Jenica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: early-elementary, traditional, picture-books, for-edci-311

Annotation:
This story is a new twist on a classic tale. Most everyone has heard of Cinderella, this version is based in Africa. There are two beautiful daughters, Manyara and Nyasha. Manyara is very outwardly beautiful but when her true colors are shown, she is not inwardly beautiful at all. On the other hand, Nyasha is both inwardly and outwardly beautiful. In the end, the king is looking for someone with inward beauty and Nyasha becomes queen.
The illustrations in this book come across as ver...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Ashleigh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: traditional

Summary
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale is a wonderful yet different version of what we all know to be Cinderella. This story was about two sisters, one who was spiteful and another who was very compassionate. The kind in the city was to find a beautiful wife to marry and he would have all the beautiful women come to his kingdom so he could choose one of them. The sister that was spiteful did not think the other sister should go to the kingdom because the king would not want some li...more Summary
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale is a wonderful yet different version of what we all know to be Cinderella. This story was about two sisters, one who was spiteful and another who was very compassionate. The kind in the city was to find a beautiful wife to marry and he would have all the beautiful women come to his kingdom so he could choose one of them. The sister that was spiteful did not think the other sister should go to the kingdom because the king would not want some like her. In their long journey to the kingdom they cam across some bumps in their paths, and come to find out at the end of the story it was the king that was putting them up to these challenges to see who would be a fit wife for him. He chose the sister that was compassionate and caring and they lived happily ever after with her sister as their servant.
Response
“Oh, my father,” she called. “A great spirit must stand guard here! Just look at what lies before us. I never in all my life dreamed there could be anything so beautiful!” (N.P.) I feel like this is a memorable quote for me because it made me feel like she was so grateful to be able to see something so beautiful. She was so taken away by the utter beauty of the castle and I was so amazed that someone that does not have a lot in their life can appreciate something so simple. This book reminds me of Cinderella, which was my favorite movie when I was little. I would watch it every day and think about how mean the stepmom and sisters were to Cinderella and thought to myself that it was not very nice of them to be so mean. This would be a good lesson for children to learn so that they will not be mean to others.
Classroom Connections
Some classroom connections that naturally link to this book are lessons about bullying and being mean to others. Therefore we could teach children to treat others the way they wish to be treated. We could also have them write an alternative side to the sister that was rude and mean and tell the students to write her character as a nice and supportive sister. This would allow the children to think about how they would change her existing character in the story.
Lexile/Guided Reading Level
The Lexile for this book is 720L. The guided reading level is T. This book would be appropriate for grades k-2 for a read aloud and should be read independently by grade 3.
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Feb 16, 2013 Jessica Porte rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chapter-book, traditional, folktale

Summary:
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is about a man who has two very beautiful daughters and to the dad they are both very kind but actually one is mean and the other is truly kind. The kind daughter has a garden where she comes across a snake in her garden who follows her around the garden. One day the messenger comes and says the king is looking for a beautiful and gracious wife. So the mean girl goes alone by herself to meet the king first and is mean to all the people she passes by. In the m...more Summary:
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is about a man who has two very beautiful daughters and to the dad they are both very kind but actually one is mean and the other is truly kind. The kind daughter has a garden where she comes across a snake in her garden who follows her around the garden. One day the messenger comes and says the king is looking for a beautiful and gracious wife. So the mean girl goes alone by herself to meet the king first and is mean to all the people she passes by. In the morning the nice daughter goes with the town and is nice to all that come in her path. In the end all the people she meet where truly one person, the king. They wed and the mean daughter becomes the servant in the house. The illustrations are bright and beautiful and go along with the story.
Response:
This book reminds me of a story in the Bible where there were two brothers and one was nice and the other was mean. they both wanted to win the respect of their father but mean brother did it in the wrong way and the nice brother ended up winning the fathers love. This is a very similar concept to this book. I read this book with three stars because even though I liked it and the illustrations where nice it was very predictable and I more prefer the books that I have to kind of guess to what is going to happen next.
Classroom Connections: This book is a historical folktale book and a good way to have this book in your class is to make a chart and discuss who the good and bad characters are and what the moral or lesson is. Idea from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/le.... This would be a good activity because by talking about the good and bad people and the moral of the story you can show kids how they should act and the moral plays in on what happens with their actions. I would definitely use this book to teach them a lesson about how to act because this book does show a good response to being good and evil.

CCSS: Lexile reading level is AD720L. The interest level is k-3 and the grade equivalent is 5.4
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Feb 10, 2013 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-materials-for-children, steptoe-john

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, a Cinderalle variant set in Africa, is re-told and illustrated by John Steptoe. In this variant, Mufaro is father to two daughters who are both physically beautiful, however Manyara is selfish and unkind, while Nyasha is generous and thoughtful. When the family learns that the king is looking for a wife, Mufaro sends both daughters for the king to choose between. In the end, Nyasha's good nature wins over the kind, while Manyara is relegated to a servant. The illust...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Rachael LaRochelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mufaros Daughters by John Steptoe

This book is an African folklore story about two sisters Mufaro is the younger kinder sister. Her older sister tells her one day that when she is queen she is going to love having her little sister live with ....as her servant. Mufaro does not understand why her sister is so unhappy and mean to her. Nyasha tells her it is because she is favored, or Nyasha thought so anyway, by their father. Mufaro keeps a garden where one day a garden snake comes to visit that sh...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Ariana Thomas added it

Reading Level –
Grade level equivalent: 5.2
Guided Reading Level: T
DRA: 50
Lexile: 720L

Genre: Fables/Folk Tales, Picture Book, and Poetry
Main Characters: Mufaro, Manyara, Nyasha, Nyoka, and the Great King
Setting: Africa
POV:narrator

This award winning story puts a unique cultural spin on the classic fairy tale "Cinderella." Mufaro has two daughters named Manyara and Nyasha who could not be any more different. Nyasha being kind and caring and Manyara acting cold and ill-tempered are turned against on...more Reading Level –
Grade level equivalent: 5.2
Guided Reading Level: T
DRA: 50
Lexile: 720L

Genre: Fables/Folk Tales, Picture Book, and Poetry
Main Characters: Mufaro, Manyara, Nyasha, Nyoka, and the Great King
Setting: Africa
POV:narrator

This award winning story puts a unique cultural spin on the classic fairy tale "Cinderella." Mufaro has two daughters named Manyara and Nyasha who could not be any more different. Nyasha being kind and caring and Manyara acting cold and ill-tempered are turned against one another as they face a series of challenges to determine one of them to become the wife of the Great King. While Manyara continues to treat her sister poorly with threats of becoming a servant slave when she is chosen to become queen, Nyasha turns to Nyoka for comfort, a snake from her garden who takes the role of fairy godmother. The sisters travel to meet the Great King and in a jaw dropping plot twist, the story ends with Nyoka revealing he is actually the Great King himself. Despite the battle between the sisters, this joyful interpretation keeps the reader wanting more magic from this wonderful story.

This book is definitely a favorite of mine! It holds a vast variety of educational purposes to choose from for use in the classroom depending on the grade level since the text can really be applied to any age group. I personally think it is best fit in upper elementary, although because the story line is familiar to most students, I would even consider using it in primary grades as well. Because of the length, if used in primary grades I would most likely break up the reading across different days as to ensure a better engagment and be able to provide students more time to grasp a better understanding of the text. Regardless of the grade level, this book can inspire great discussion around the theme of good vs. evil and the rewards of good behavior. In addition to using this resource to study classic fairy tale elements, I would recommend also emphasizing the cultural adaptations of this particular version. Because there are so many valuable themes, I would choose a few I believe would work best for my class on which to focus. Themes include compassion, honesty, morality, manners and conduct, and magic or realism vs. fantasy. Lastly, I would be sure to emphasize and discuss the illustrations paired with the text as they reflect the culture embedded in this stunning rendition to only further support the development of the characters while adding to the setting.
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Nov 18, 2012 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Grade/Interest Level: K-3
Lexile Level: AD720-L
Genre: Modern Fantasy

Main Characters: Mufaro, Manyara, Nyasha, the King
Setting: An African village
POV: Third Person

Nyasha and Manyara were Mufaro's daughter. He loved them both very much, but they were very different. Nyasha was kind hearted and sweet, while Manyara was mean, selfish and moody. When Mufaro wasn't around, Manyara was mean and nasty to her sister, but Nyasha never complained. When the King began looking for a wife, Mufaro decided to se...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: traditional

This is such a fantastic "Cinderella Story" that teaches the importance of kindness towards everyone, regardless of their appearance, not just because of the potential rewards (snakes are probably not all kings), but because you are no better than them. The illustrations are wonderfully detailed, it is obvious why it received a Caldecott honor; I loved that Steptol reflects African culture in a beautiful way, rather than depicting it as dirty or "third world" as we are so accustomed to seeing. T...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Ciara Alamillo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: daughters, cinderella, village, king, prek-3, african, africa, traditional

Summary
This book takes place a long time ago in a certain village in Africa. Mufaro is a father of two daughters named, Manyara and Nyasha which in their village are considered very beautiful. Manyara is very mean to her sister Nyasha because they entire village views Nyasha as the most kind hearted person in the village and Manyara does not like this one bit. One day, the king of the land calls out to all the most worthy and beautiful daughters in the land to appear in front of him and for one...more Summary
This book takes place a long time ago in a certain village in Africa. Mufaro is a father of two daughters named, Manyara and Nyasha which in their village are considered very beautiful. Manyara is very mean to her sister Nyasha because they entire village views Nyasha as the most kind hearted person in the village and Manyara does not like this one bit. One day, the king of the land calls out to all the most worthy and beautiful daughters in the land to appear in front of him and for one of the daughters to be chosen as his wife. Being the meanest of the sisters Nyasha wants to be the first daughter the king sees so she sets forth the night before to get there first. Little did she know that her greed and unkind fullness heart will not lead to good things.
The pictures in this book are very detailed and make the story come to life. After every page turn there are pages filled with color which your eyes cannot look away. You can see the expressions on each of the characters faces which makes the characters stand out a lot more.

Response
I liked that this is a different version of the Cinderella most people know. It is really intriguing to hear a different side to this story from a different culture. I gave this book 5 stars because the whole story behind the tale is a great lesson for students to know. The message in this story is not to be greedy and mean to people you come across especially your own family. If you are kind and respectful to each and every individual and treat them how you want to be treated in the end you will be rewarded. I think this is a great message for children especially if it is in a school where bullying occurs frequently. Overall, this book was a great read.

Classroom Connection
A classroom activity that could work for this book, which comes from teachingbooks.net, could be to write the story as to what happens next. Doing this, will work on the student’s creativity and to see how well they understand the concept of being kind to others.

Text Complexity
This book is a 720 Lexile/GR level T

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Sep 15, 2012 Tahmina Alam rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Primary School children

Recommended to Tahmina by: Year 5 student

Book review: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale.

This African tale tells a story of two opposite sisters from a small family, living in one of the many rural areas in Africa. Whilst Mufaro’s daughters were both beautiful in appearance, their inner beauty could not be more different. Locals complemented Nyasha’s kind, graceful and responsible qualities. On the contrary, Manyara was a very temperamental, rude and malicious person, especially to her sister whom she was very jealous of. Ny...more Book review: Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale.

This African tale tells a story of two opposite sisters from a small family, living in one of the many rural areas in Africa. Whilst Mufaro’s daughters were both beautiful in appearance, their inner beauty could not be more different. Locals complemented Nyasha’s kind, graceful and responsible qualities. On the contrary, Manyara was a very temperamental, rude and malicious person, especially to her sister whom she was very jealous of. Nyasha was very tolerant of her sister’s mean behaviour towards her and did not retaliate. Nyasha befriends a snake called Nyoka, who comes to visit her while she works in her garden.

Meanwhile, Mufaro remains oblivious to Manyara’s antics as she was vigilant in his presence and selfless Nyasha is too mindful of upsetting her father to complain. When one day, the king from the nearby city calls for all girls to be presented before him so that he may choose a wife, Mufaro decides both of his daughters must attend.

Seeing as Mufaro refused Manyara’s proposition to be sent to the city before the king without Nyasha accompanying her, she begins to secretly travel to the city alone. In her night journey, she comes across a small hungry boy whom she refuses to give food. Then she meets an old woman who advises her wisely regarding a group of laughing trees and a man who Manyara will come across in her journey. Yet Manyara responds disrespectfully. Consequently, when Manyara does come to pass the laughing trees and the old man she disregards the old women’s advice.

Back at the village, at the strike of dawn, in frenzy looking for her, everyone start following Manyara’s footprints to the city. As Nyasha passes the same route, she gives food to the hungry boy and thanks the old women with a gift for her help.

Finally, having reached the kingdom, Mufaro and Nyasha find Manyara running out the king’s chambers frightened. Manyara advised her sister against visiting the king, whom she described as a snake with five heads who claimed to know all her faults. Nyasha entered the king’s chamber to find Nyoka sitting on the throne revealing that he is the king, as well as the little hungry boy Nyasha had fed and the wise old women Nyasha had gifted. And so Nyasha was chosen as the new queen, with Manyara being the servant at the kingdom.

This is grasping story that can be used with Reception children, Key Stage one and two to teach them the importance of good manners, following instructions and can be implemented to deter bullying. The different forms of bullying and how to deal with it can be discussed. It can also be used as an African folk tale during international week, which can be performed at school assemblies. A highly recommended read.

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Jun 23, 2012 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a great book that relates to the literacy topic Stories from other cultures and stories that raise an issue / dilemma. It is set in an African village. The King is looking for a Queen and Mufaro believes that the King should meet his two beautiful daughters. The two sisters are polar opposites to each other. Nyasha is kind and caring whereas Manyara is bad-tempered and rude. In order to figure out which sister will be best suited as Queen, the King transforms himself into a garden snake,...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Evelyn Alvarez rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe is based in Zimbabwe. It’s about two sisters Manyara and Nyasha who are very different. Manyara is malicious, jealous, and selfish. However, Nyasha is kind, loving, compassionate, and caring. Students are able to make predictions because it is similar to the traditional Cinderella story. Though it is similar it has its spins. This book received the Caldecott Honor and the reason for it is quite clear. It is an African influenced book...more

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May 02, 2012 Emma Walker rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this book before introducing the topic of 'stories from another culture' to a class of year 5 children. This story, based in Zimbabwe, follows two sisters Manyara and Nyasha who both want to be chosen as the King's wife.

The two sisters are very different characters, with Nyasha being presented as loving, caring and kind, whereas her sister Manyara is rather mean, jealous and inconsiderate. The story, like many of its kind, considered the morals that an individual should have, and ultimat...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Morgan rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a really interesting version of the traditional "Cinderella" story. I don't know what exactly to call it, because it didn't quite feel like a standard Cinderella tale, but it was definitely a spin of a classic fairy tale. I liked the African influence of this book, and the moral. I am not sure how I feel that the man holding his head only appeared for one of the sisters, but not the other. I sincerely enjoyed the artwork of this book too. I think it was a great twist being in an African...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Sarah Murray rated it 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book. As a child i was obsessed with the Cinderella stories as well as all the other stories involving princesses. I especially liked this version of Cinderella because it is different and it's a great way to give kids a new look on culture. It also has different twists to the story that isn't seen in the original Cinderella but that doesn't mean that the kids wouldn't be too far off if they tried to foreshadow the story and figure out eventually what will happen next.

As...more

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Oct 26, 2011 Katelynn Callahan added it

The first thing that catches your attention about this book are the beautiful illustrations that the cover depict. The story is about Mufaro and his two gorgeous daughters that he adores so much. He wants them to be presented to the kings so that one of them may potentially become his queen. Both daughters are very gorgeous however Manyara seems to have a bit of selfishness in her, while Nyasha is not only beautiful on the outside but the inside as well. The story is very similar to the cinderel...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Brittany Young rated it 3 of 5 stars

The first thing I noticed about this book was the cultural implications on the cover. It had an African cultural theme to it. The cover drawing was absolutely beautiful and delicate. It is a wrap-around image, showing animals, forest, and a girl on the cover. The drawings both inside the book and on the cover seem to be done in color pencil. The images are very saturated, with natural tones. The occasional flower or bird stands out beautifully against the dark green forest and jungle and the bro...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Johanna M. rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book “Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters” is about two girls galled Nyasha and Manyara. Everyone agreed that Mufaro’s daughters were beautiful. Manyara was a selfish girl and her sister Nyasha was a pretty good girl. Then the kind decided to invited the most beautiful daughter in the land, that’s why Mufaro declared that the King had to choose between one of his daughters. Manyara wants to be the chose one, so she went to see the king without say any word to her sister and her father. In the way t...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Mufaro's Beeautiful Daughters is a very-nicely illsutrated picture book that teaches a very importmant moral. From the beginning of the story, the one sister, Manyara, is very rude and selfish, and ignores others. On the other hand, her sister, Nyasha, is a sweet, compassionate, and caring girl. When their Father, Mufaro, tells the girl they will soon depart on a journey to see which girl the King would choose to marry, Manyara becomes cocky and gives attitude towards Nyasha when she see says, "...more

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Oct 15, 2009 NS-Lisa Skrzypczynski rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: traditional-literature

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, John Steptoe, is an African Cinderella story. Mufaro was a happy man and a very proud father. Mufaro had two very beautiful daughters who lived with him. Nyasha was kind, considerate, and very beautiful. Manyara, Mufuaro’s other daughter was very cruel, mean, and rude. Everyone knew this about Manyara; everyone except for Mufaro. Manyara spent all of her time teasing her sister. On day, the king decided he wanted to get married and invited "The Most Worthy and Beaut...more

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Feb 05, 2011 Q_Barb rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: award-winners, rll520-picture-books, social-studies, artistic-styles, folktales, rll520-traditional-lit

This Caldecott Honor picture Book of an African folk tale is illustrated and shared with us by John Steptoe. It is the story of a man, Mufaro, in an African village whose king is seeking a bride and how the man's two daughters, Nyasha and Manyara, persue that dream. It's premise is of pride going before a fall, but for me it was more than anything a story of kindness rewarded for its own sake.
This is one of the most beautifully illustrated books I have read, with lush, deep shades of colors i...more This Caldecott Honor picture Book of an African folk tale is illustrated and shared with us by John Steptoe. It is the story of a man, Mufaro, in an African village whose king is seeking a bride and how the man's two daughters, Nyasha and Manyara, persue that dream. It's premise is of pride going before a fall, but for me it was more than anything a story of kindness rewarded for its own sake.
This is one of the most beautifully illustrated books I have read, with lush, deep shades of colors in the foliage and sky. It is illustrated in the Realism style and Steptoe's artistry with the expression on the characters' faces and hand gestures is superb.
I highly recommend, however, listening to this tale as it is read by Robin Miles and following along in the book. Her African accent lends a beauty to the fable that my feeble imagination could not.
Dedicating his book to the children of South Africa, Steptoe writes that he was inspired by a folktale collected by G.M. Theal and published in 1895 in his book, Kaffir Folktales. The illustrations were inspired by the ruins of ancient city in Zimbabwe. The author note also goes on to explain the characters' names and what they mean in their native language.
I think this book could be used in a classroom curriculum in multiple ways, such as unit studying the message and characters in the fables and folk tales from foreign countries, that could include as "How many spots does a leopard have? and other tales" by Julius Lester which includes African and Jewish tales, "Folk tales & fables of Asia & Australia" by Robert Ingpen & Barbara Hayes, "Russian folk-tales" retold by James Riordan, as a few examples. Whenever possible, have the same choices available to be heard as well as read, such as "The rainbow people" by Laurence Yep.
Or it could be paired with other African folktales, such "The Lion and the Ostrich Chick" by Ashley Bryan, which includes folk tales from Hausa, Angolan, Masai, and Bushmen people of Africa and then extend it on with non-fiction during a unit on Africa.
It also could be as an example of how to notice important parts of the illustrations. It could be used for lessons on sequencing, or writing with dialogue. The overall message could spur a good discussion at many grades, from kindergarten up. It would be a wonderful thing to have in a listening center for younger students such as second -graders.
Also there is a recorded Spanish version of this that I haven't listened to yet or read, as well as another version of the tale by Debbie Diller and a teacher's resource guide for the tale that I haven't found yet, but plan on getting.(less)

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Jan 30, 2010 CH_Emily Scholnik rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mc-literature

Awards Won:
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award
ALA Notable Children’s Book
Horn Book Fanfare
Parents' Choice Silver Honor
Coretta Scott King Award (Illustrator)
Reading Rainbow Book
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award
ALA Notable Children’s Book
Horn Book Fanfare
Parents' Choice Silver Honor

ISBN: 9780688040451; ISBN10: 0688040454; Imprint: Amistad ; On Sale: 3/31/1987; Format: Hardcover; Trimsize: 8 3/4 x 11; Pages: 32; Ages: 3 to 8

This beautifully illustrated book is a South African "Cinderella" story.
Muf...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Julia Jasztal rated it 5 of 5 stars

(Mommy's review from 8/10/11)

Wow. After I finished reading this to Julia I read it again by myself. It's stunning. The illustrations are magnificent and the story is just as fabulous.
After reading a review from a friend here on GR and then having two other friends tell me they also loved it I knew I had to order it. So I wasn't surprised we liked it but I was surprised I liked it so much.
It's really one of the better books out there IMO. On any subject, with any characters.
A lot of the time I ei...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Chrissy Muller rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To me, this story reminded me a lot of the classic turtle and the hare scheme. Manyara was the "hare" in that she wanted to get ahead of her sister Nyasha, the turtle, in seeing the king to gain title as queen. Manyara was mean, rude, gaudy, and uncompassionate. Nyasha was kind, loving, and helpful. The many characters she met along her path to meeting the king recognized her positive attributes, and in the end, the turtle beat out the hare. Throughout the story, Manyara was being selfish and ev...more

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About John Steptoe

John Steptoe was an award-winning author and illustrator of children's books from New York City. He began working on his first children's book, Stevie, while still a teenager and achieved great success during his tragically short career, encouraging the advancement of African American culture by producing work about the African American experience that children could appreciate. Recipient of two C...more

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