Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is a passed down African tale, written in this book by John Steptoe. It falls under the folktale/fairy tale category. In the book a village man named Mufaro has two daughters he is raising, Manyara and Nyasha. Manyara was very sneaky and rude to her sister behind her fathers back. Nyasha on the other hand was a very kind and giving women who labored hard in her duties. One day a message was sent out that the king was looking for a queen. During the journey to the city the girls both went through test and trials. Manyara was her selfish and deceitful self and when she reached to city all she found was a 3 headed snake and was scared off. When Nyasha reached the village she recognized her garden snake friend from her garden where she labored. The snake changed transformed into the king. Nyasha married him while her sister became a servant in her house.

This book is filled with beautiful pictures with a very organic pastel look. The photos were inspired by ruins of an ancient city found in Zimbabwe, and the flora and fauna of the region.

There are many lesions that can be taught from this book. Even if a child is too young to read the book by them-self it can be read to them and easily understood. The moral is kindness pays off. Nyasha became a queen because she was kind to the people along her journey! She was giving, she gave the small boy in the forest her last yam to eat. She was respected, the tress bowed to her while they laughed at her sister. Nyasha respected her elders while Manyara deceived her father and called the old women in the forest foolish. Humbleness always pays off! In the end Nyasha was a cherished queen and Manyara just a servant in the crowed.

Activities

1.Have the children tell you the differences between the sisters and how it effected each of the outcomes.

2. Make the children share with you a time when they were kind and what reward they got from it.
3. Mufaro means  "happy man", Nyasha means "mercy" and Manyara means "ashamed". Have the children explain how each of the characters  characteristics withholds the meaning of their name.

Steptoe, John (1987) Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.