Wednesday, September 1, 2021

African Folktales at Internet Archive: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

Carrying on with the southern Africa theme for this week, I am pleased to feature this amazing children's book written and illustrated by John Steptoe: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, and it's just a click away at Internet Archive. 


As you can see already on the title page, the illustrations are gorgeous. The landscape of Steptoe's book was inspired by the land of Zimbabwe. The characters' names are Shona, and the book is dedicated to the children of South Africa. 


The book was published in 1987 and won the Caldecott Award and also the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration. It's since been made into a musical: video preview.


Sadly, John Steptoe died of AIDS in 1989, only 38 years old; at the time of his death, he had written and illustrated 10 children's books and illustrated 6 more. To honor his memory, American Library Association established the John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Steptoe's daughter Bweela was the model for the daughter in Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. and his son Javaka Steptoe is also an artist and book illustrator; his book Radiant Child about Jean-Michel Basquiat won the 2017 Caldecott Award (find out more at his website).

The story is based on a folktale from Theal's Kaffir Folk Lore of 1895, an important collection of Khosa folktales (the insulting term "kaffir" was first used for the Xhosa people and then came to be a term of disrespect for any Black person in South Africa). Theal's book is available at Internet Archive, along with many other websites, as it is in the public domain.


The story Steptoe is using, The Story Of Five Heads, is a classic African tale-type about two sisters, one who is kind and one who is not, and how the kind girl receives her reward in the end. 


It's a wonderful fairy tale, told beautifully and with beautiful illustrations on every page:


So, click and enjoy; this book is a perfect introduction to the world of African fairy tales:





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