Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters

By

John Steptoe

Steptoe, John. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. Unpaged. Lothrop, Lee &

Shepard Books. 1987. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-688-04045-4.

This story tells an African folktale of selfishness and kindness, wickedness and integrity, loss and gain. An African villager by the name of Mufaro has two beautiful daughters, Manyara and Nyasha. Manyara is the selfish daughter who is very jealous of her sister. Nyasha, on the other hand, is the kind, caring, considerate daughter. The King of the City decrees that he will choose a queen from the "most worthy and beautiful daughters in the Land." Because both daughters are very beautiful, Mufaro decides that both daughters should appear before the King. Manyara steals away during the night toward the city. On her way through the forest, she encounters a variety of tests to prove her character. The next morning, Nyasha and her father embark on their journey. Nyasha also endures the same tests of character. Nyasha passes each test and demonstrates to the King that she is worthy of becoming his Queen. As a teaching tool, the traits of the main female character espoused in this story could be contrasted and compared to those found in the story, The Dragon Prince, by Laurence Yep. Steptoe is both author and illustrator of this intriguing story. This tale is based on a Zimbabwe theme and the artwork reflects this African region. The illustrations reveal a realistic approach through mixed media

By Linda Reinert.