Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: an African Tale by John Steptoe

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: an African Tale by John Steptoe

Steptoe, J. (1987). Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: an African Tale. New York, NY: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.

International Literature; Folk Literature; Caldecott Honor Award

                      This African folk tale involves the story of two sisters who are both in the running for becoming the wife of a prince. Nyasha was the sweet daughter, always kind and considerate, while Manyara is selfish and mean. Mufaro, their father, has no idea how evil Manyara can be towards her sister. In order to be chosen as the prince's wife, Manyara tricked her sister and set off for the palace late at night to beat her sister there. In the end, the prince told Manyara that she is very evil and does not deserve to be his wife, ultimately choosing Nyasha as his wife and Manyara as the palace servant. The moral of the story is for people to be kind and considerate and good things will happen for you, and if you are mean you will not prosper. This story is the African version of the well-known traditional story of Cinderella, set in South Africa. I would love to get my students to create their own folk tale first based off their own family culture at home, then one with a cultural theme of another country or region they are unfamiliar with. This would give students a chance to become familiar with the outline of folk tales and literature, the culture of their peers, and the culture of other regions and countries around the world.