Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (1987)

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Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters is a children book released in 1987 and written by John Steptoe, who is an author and illustrator for children books specializing on aspects of the African-American experience. The book won many awards for Steptoe’s illustration and also adopted into many different literature curricula. Many had said that this is a reset the classic Cinderella pattern in an ancient Zimbabwe city. The story is inspired from Kaffir Folk-lore, published by author G.M Theal in 1895.

Plot

The story centered around Mufaro’s two beautiful daughters, Nyasha and Manyara. The two sisters has opposite personalities, Nyasha is seen favorably by the villagers for her kindness while Manyara is bad tampered and bullies her sister behind their father’s back. Nyasha is sadden by her sister’s anger, but continue to keep tending her garden, and singing even more sweetly when the pretty little snake, called Nyoka, is around.

When they heard about the King’s request for his citizen to send him candidates to be his wife, Mufaro decided to send both of his daughters. Manyara sets off first and along the way she meets a hungry kid, but she refuses to offer him any food. And then she comes across an old woman offering an advice on how to get pass the laughing trees, but she chooses not to listen to her advice and hurries to the royal city.

Nyasha goes after with the same journey with her sister, but unlike Manyara, Nyasha choose to feed the hungry kid and listen to the old woman. When Nyasha and her father arrived in the city, they are met with her frightened sister. Manyara begs them not to go into the Kins’s chambers, as there is a giant monster in there. However, when Nyasha enters the chambers, she is met by harmless garden snake she met earlier while gardening, Nyoka who turns out to the King in his other form. He reveals himself as the king and state that he has shapeshifted during the sister's journey to test on their personalities and kindness. The Kind decided to marry Nyasha due to her kindness and beauty, making her the Queen, while Manyara becomes Nyasha’s servant.[1]

Awards

  • The Caldecott Medal (1988): The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to celebrate the achievement of picture book.[2]
  • Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrators (1988): The Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrators is awarded annually to one African American illustrator who demonstrates "appreciation of African American culture and universal human values".[3]

Impact

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughter got positive reviews by critics and celebrated for its beautiful illustrations and positive messages. Not only it was an example of generosity for children, it serves as descriptive people and setting, and most importantly this book represents black representation in children's book. Because its representation of minority culture and simple diction, this book is used in many different curricula for teaching English as a second language.

References

  1. Kirkus Reviews. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. Retrieved on December 16, 2020.
  2. American Library Association (1999). The Randolph Caldecott Medal. Retrieved on December 16, 2020.
  3. American Library Association (2009). The Coretta Scott King Book Awards. Retrieved on Devember 16,2020.