Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

Steptoe, J. (1987). Mufaro's beautiful daughters:An African tale. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.  Mufaro's Beautiful Daughter's received the Caldecott Honor Award in 1988. This is a traditional literature story, because it is a folktale. The category of folk tale this story falls under is a magic tale, because it contain elements of magic and enchantment. The stories setting is in Africa. It is a story of two sisters Manyara and Nyasha, who are the daughter of Mufaro and both are considered beautiful; and beauty is the only thing they have in common. Manyara is always rude and talks down to her sister, but she is convinced she will be queen one day. Nyasha on the other hand, is always kind and shares with others, she is very humble and would be satisfied being the servant to her sister if she becomes queen. The king sends out a message that he is looking for a wife, and Mufaro hopes he will choose one of his daughter's. To find out which one he chooses pick this great book up and read it. John Steptoe painted lovely illustrations to show warmth and depict the land of Africa. The big questions I would ask my students would be Is it better to be kind or mean?  Who has ever heard of a sibling rivalry? Do you have rivalry with your siblings? How does the rivalry make you feel? How can you resolve your problems with your sibling? What could be the consequences for being mean and rude to people?