Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters - Multicultural Lit

. 
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, written by John Steptoe, is an African tale about a man named Mufaro and his very different daughters, Nyasha and Manyara. Nyasha is thoughtful, kind, and generous while Manyara is selfish, conceited, and conniving. The plot of the book is a little similar to the classic tale of Cinderella. There is a prince who is on a quest for a bride and he sets up obstacles that his bride would pass. One sister fails miserably because of ugly traits while the other thrives and becomes the bride.

The illustrations are beyond just pictures; it’s almost like you’re in the forest with the characters. Steptoe uses the lined technique to draw and shade in the pictures. The colors are vibrant in a natural way. Very detailed drawings are on every page. For example, when Nyasha was in her garden the crops were in great abundance to show her blessings.

This book would be great for activities that include the topics: Fantasy, Reality and/or Imagination. The younger grades would love reading this and then as a reader response, the class could discuss the book together. An activity for this book could be to imagine a new character that could’ve been in the book. They could create their own creature or person and write something descriptive about it. In addition, they could discuss the illustrations and how the pictures are drawn. That could even turn into a mini art lesson.

I read this book when I was a wee lad…ahem..just a little over 10 years ago. I’ve always remembered it had such a great message and  because of the similarity to the Cinderella tale. I love underdog stories and when folks who are genuinely good people succeed.

 

Steptoe, J. (1987). Mufaro's beautiful daughters. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.

 

 

Benny's Had Enough

Benny’s Had Enough, written by Barbro Lindgren and illustrated by Olof Landstom, is a story about a young pig who gets fed up with his mother for being, well, his mother. He doesn’t want her to get his dinner together for him and he doesn’t want her to give him or his toy a bath. He gets so angry that he runs away to find a family who doesn’t make him eat his dinner or bathe.

To illustrate Benny’s theatrics and wild antics, Landstrom made sure to match Benny’s facial expressions to the story. Readers don’t even have to read the words to understand how Benny is feeling. The settings are detailed and very natural even though the story is a fantasy story. It is very colorful and and well, normal. It would  appeal to children because it looks like their homes, or homes they’ve seen.  The illustrations help to tell the story because Benny is very emotional so he need his emotions to show throughout the pictures – Landstrom does this perfectly. This is appealing because readers can look at Benny’s face and imagine a time when they might’ve looked like him and think about how angry they were.

An activity that could be used after reading this book is having students continue the story. The student could create additional plot and illustrate their ideas. This way, students know that they are capable of creating stories. After reading the story, students can discuss the repercussions of running away based on Benny’s adventures, ahem, misadventures.

 

Lindgren, B. (1999). Benny's had enough. Stockholm: R & S Books. 

 

Maya and Filippo Show Aloha - Multicultural Lit

   Maya and Filippo Show Aloha is about a family who stops in Hawaii while cruising around the world by boat. They stop in different places and learn about the culture and traditions of that place. The family stops in Hawaii and gets a life- lesson on the different meanings of ‘Aloha’. This series is written by world traveler, Alinka Rutkowska and it is illustrated by Konrad Checinski. This work is of the biography and memoir genre. Rutkowski writes these stories based on her travels on a cruise boat so these books could be considered a biography of the author’s life. The illustrations in the book are very child friendly and ‘straight to the point’. What I mean by this is that the pictures depict exactly what the person is saying. I would also call this book an informative picturebook.

 

I love this book because it has its own reader response questions at the back of it. Mini quizzes and additional information called ‘Did You Know?’ is at the back of each book in the series. In addition to using the book resources I would suggest creating a ‘Culture Scrapbook’. Our text suggests a “Character Scrapbook” that can be used for each character in a book. So, to target cultures and traditions, I would use this great suggestion as the Culture Scrapbook where students can write down interesting facts and useful information about the culture. Another activity that can stem from this book could be a recipe book! Students can create a recipe book that includes recipes from different cultures and even create one of the traditional meals! The recipes would target whatever culture they were reading about. These ideas are great for furthering knowledge about different cultures. Plus, the hands- on aspect works extremely well for some learners.

 

      Alinka Rutkowska travels around the world just like the characters in her books. Wherever she goes, she tries to create a book that depicts her adventures and new cultural knowledge. Her other books include : Maya and Filippo Visit San Franciso, Maya and Filippo Visit a Glacier, and Maya and Filippo Talk Business in Seattle. She also has coloring book versions of her picture books! I’m sure kids love reading the books and then coloring afterwards. Also, she is the recipient of the International Readers’ Favorite Book Award and her books are also mom- approved!(Mom’s Choice Award)

 

Rutkowska, A. (2014). Maya and Filippo Show Aloha. NY, New York: Whiteside Publishing.

 

Galda, L. (2010). Literature and the Child, 7th edition. Belmont: Wadsworth