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Synopsis
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale is a 1988 children’s picture book written and illustrated by John Steptoe. It was named as one of the winners of the 1988 Caldecott Honor.

John Steptoe was also awarded the Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations done in this book.

Plot Summary
In a small village in Africa lived a man who had two beautiful daughters, Manyara and Nyasha. Manyara has a bad temper, harbors jealousy towards her sister, and is selfish, although she conceals it from her father, and her sister is the exact opposite, kind and considerate to all people and animals.

One day their father, Muaro receives word from a messenger that the Great King has requested all the most beautiful and worthy women in the land to come before him so that he may choose one to be his wife. And Mufaro decides that both his daughters should go. Upon hearing the news Manyara attempts to convince their father that Nyasha shouldn’t go, as she is to weak to make the journey, in the hopes that her sister does not have a chance of beating her. When that fails,

Manyara sets out in the middle of the night in the hopes of beating them there. In the morning when Nyasha sets out to the big city she encounters the same obstacles that her sister had the night before. She comes across a young starving boy but instead of shoving him aside she offers him her food; she also took the old womans advice and gave her seeds instead of scoffing at her remarks as Manyara had done.

Upon arriving into the city she is met by Manyara who warns her not to go in, as it is not a Prince but a snake with five heads. Nyasha did go in, and found not a monster, but  her garden snake Nyoba. He transforms into a lovely prince who recounted all the good she had done as he had posed as the beggar boy and the old woman that she helped, and asked to marry her. Manyara had become a servant in the queen's household, her sister's household.

Awards and Honors

 * The Caldecott Award
 * An ALA Notable Book
 * The Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrations
 * Boston Globe/ Horn Book Award for Illustrations
 * Reading Rainbow Featured Book
 * 2002 Notable Children's Recordings
 * NYPL 100 Greatest Children's Books
 * Parent's Choice Silver Medal