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Summary: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
Review: I am a West Virginia State College student,taking a required class in Children's Literature. For my class assignment I had to read a Caldecott Honor Book and I selected Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. I loved this book, it reminded me of the classic Cinderella story only better. This story has beautiful pictures and it shows how people should treat others no matter how they look or act. This book woud be good to use in a classroom to teach such values and to increase students interest in African culture. I hope everyone reads this book.
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Summary: In the eye of the beholder
Review: I love how folktales around the world contain so many elements similar to one another. In John Steptoe's elegant, "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters", careful readers pick up echoes of such myths as Psyche & Cupid, Cinderella, and Roses & Pearls. Yet the story is inspired by an original folktale from 1895. Dedicating this book to the children of South Africa, Steptoe has created one of the most beautiful and eloquent picture books of our time.Once there was a man with two beautiful daughters. Both were equal in loveliness, but different in temperament. While Nyasha was kind and good, Manyara was vain and cruel. When the king announces that he would like to meet these two girls and decide, between the two of them, which one he shall wed, the sly Manyara does her darndest to become queen and make her sister her servant. The tale is vaguely disturbing in all the right ways. When Manyara sets out to get a jump on the king's affections by reaching the palace first, she comes across a series of odd sequences. A boy (with ears Spock himself would envy) is denied food, laughing trees are laughed back at, and a man with his head under his arm is ignored callously. The moral of the story is, of course, that to be good and kind is far better than to be cold and mean. Steptoe's illustrations lift this tale from being merely good to extraordinary. There is a realism to the characters that leaves the reader with little doubt that they were fashioned on real people. Steptoe has likewise stayed faithful to the land of Zimbabwe, where this tale is set. He has been inspired by everything from the architecture to the flora and fauna. But what I liked best was the clothing. The garments and jewelry of this story encase the characters, making each person practically a member of royalty. Take especial care to note the wedding clothes at the end of the story, as well as the view of the village. The story is gorgeous in both what it says and how it says it. One of the best books for children ever written. Ever.
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Summary: A beautiful,ancient story where good triumphs over evil.
Review: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is a beautifully illustrated story where good triumphs over evil. Both sisters must pass several tests as in the story Arrow to the sun, in order to be considered the most beautiful AND the most worthy daughter for the prince to marry. Teachers: you can use this book to continue with an author study of John Steptoe who has written nothing but wonderful children's books. Another wonderful book by John Steptoe with the moral of selflessness is in the-Story of Jumping Mouse. Parents: If you're lucky you can catch the episode of Reading Rainbow where the story is read by my favorite actress Phylicia Rashad. A wonderful, wonderful story.
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Summary: A fascinating twist to a familiar Cinderella tale
Review: What happens when you mix two beautiful daughters, one handsome prince, and a marriage proposal? Well, if one is selfish, self-centered, and spoiled, and the other is kind, loving, and sweet, then you get the heartwarming fairytale by John Steptoe, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. He credits an Afrcan folktale with inspiring htis original version of a Cinderella-esque story. Steptoe's illustrations compliment the tale at every turn, defining setting, expanding characteriaztion, and adding depth to the text; they are indeed worthy of the Caldecott Honor Book Medal which graces the cover. Pages of stunning paintings capture the very essence of the story's Zimbabwean ancestors and the landscape they inhabited. In this typical fast-paced fairytale where evil is punished and good is rewarded, readers meet Manyara and Nyasha, two sisters of unsurpassable beauty, who are summonded to the city in order to appear before the unmarried prince. Little girls everywhere will identify with the kind and patient Nyasha and delight at the fate that the "evil" sister, Manyara, eventually meets. Children of all ages will thoroughly enjoy a read-aloud of this fairytale. The vivid use of language and exquisite illustrations, such as the scene in which Nyasha meets the king, are sure to entertain even the most discriminating audience, from the youngest listener to the transitional reader. Complete with a surprise ending, a touch of magic, and a moral message, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is a wonderful story and makes and excellent comparison to more traditional versions of Cinderella.
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