Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

Title: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

Author: John Steptoe

Publisher: Amistad

Date: 1987

Number of pages: 32

Reading level: Ages 48

Genre: Folktale

Summary: This book is usually described as an African variation on Cinderella and it has a similar story - when a king invites the women of his kingdom to come to his palace so that he can choose the most worthy to be his wife, two sisters appear before him and he chooses the kinder of the two. But this version of Cinderella is infinitely superior to the tale most Americans grow up on.

In John Steptoe's version, inspired by an African folktale, the two sisters are both beautiful, but the beauty of one, Manyara, is only external. Her sister, Nyasha, the "Cinderella" character is beautiful inside and out. And her goodness doesn't consist just of doing what she's told to do. She's kind to all creatures, even Manyara who is repeatedly wicked and mean towards her younger sister. Nyasha befriends a snake in the garden and sings to it while she tends to her plants. Manyara is mean to all creatures she encounters, especially the 3 she stumbles across on her way to seek the throne. Furthermore, the king chooses Nyasha to be his queen not because of her beauty, but because he has secretly seen her her kindness and generosity (and her sister's meanness) in action. He chooses a good soul, not just a beautiful face. The end of the book you find out the king is also the snake that Nyasha befriends in the garden. Their father is pleased with the King's choice and Manyara is chosen to be a servant in the kings mansion.

My Reaction: I loved this variation of the classic Cinderella fairy tale! This version has all the elements that make Cinderella a classic, but ethically it's far, far better. As if that weren't enough, the illustrations in this book are sheer magic. More than any book we've read, this one has inspired in my daughter a fascination with Africa. The details of Steptoe's paintings, drawn from the plants, animals and architecture of Zimbabwe, are glorious. Every time we read the book, my daughter and I talk about new things we notice about the pictures. I can't think of a single children's book I like better than this one.

Potential Problems: I do not see any problems with this children's classic.

My Recommendation: I think this book should be used as a great reading time book. You could also incorporate a writing assignment with the book to keep children enthused in the story. I would recommend using this to teach children the variations of fairy tales. It's important that children understand the classic stories they see on Disney are not the only versions of the story. The writing activity that could be used is having the children make their own variation of the Cinderella story!