read

This is a rendition of Cinderella that portrays two sisters of an African farmer. Of course, one sister is cruel and jealous of her beautiful younger sister. There are magical themes throughout the book and it reads more like a legend than a fairy tale. It is also presented as a fable since the older, cruel sister acts selfishly while the younger sister is kind and compassionate, and both receive their just rewards.

Parents will appreciate the moral of the story and it can be a useful tool to teach compassion to children. The sibling rivalry is also addressed in this book and can be used to discuss family roles and treatment. Best of all, this tale is a deviation from the "Disney" version of CInderella, and offers a deeper and more diverse perspective on the classic children's tale.

While John Steptoe portrays this Cinderella tale from an African perspective, there are many renditions of the cinderella tale. This may serve as a wonderful opportunity ot explore other tales and expose your students to different cultural interpretations and ideas. Of special note are The Egyptian CInderella, and The Persian Cinderella. { see bottom for more info} These can serve as inspiration to research cultural legends or fables. Also, since this version differs from one that children may already be familiar with, teachers might want to have their children create their own version of a Cinderella story.

This story was a personal favorite of mine as a child. I loved the way it was presented as a legend rather than a fairy tale. Another one of my favorite African legends is Why Mosquito's Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema. {See more info at bottom} This book might be nice used in conjunction with Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters as a compare and contrast exercise.

"King Bidgood is in the bathtub and he won't get out!" The page announces to the court that their whimsical monarch is refusing to get out of the tub and he needs help! The queen, duke, knight, and court all try to persuade the king to get out of the tub for he has things to do. Instead he brings the activities to the tub! These vivid and intricate illustrations will enrapture even older readers.

There is excellent repetition in this book so children will soon be reading along with their parent. For young readers, this book has a nice demonstration of the progression of time through the day, and may even encourage kids to get into the tub! Finally, children will be self entertained with the intricate and captivating illustrations for hours on end.

Teachers of the very young and emergent readers will find this book useful for its simple story and good use of repetition. This story is good for predicting, since the king is so stubborn! For older readers, this entertaining book may serve as a nice introduction to monarchy or court life. There are also many "-ot" rime family words.

Again, this was a personal favorite from childhood. I loved the fanciful illustrations and thought that the best part was that the boy proves to be the smartest of all! It is also heartwarming that the page is modeled after Audrey and Don Wood's son.

This tall tale is about a gigantic woman with an even larger heart. Doña Flor is a giant woman who cares for her pueblo, making tortillas every morning and even lets the children use her flowers as trumpets. However, the village becomes afraid of a mysterious roar and Doña Flor sets off to find its source. This elaborately illustrated story will please all the readers in your life.

Teachers will appreciate this books intertwining of both English and Spanish. This tale allows for bilingual students as well as English Learners to become class experts and the morals of compassion and generosity will easily lend themselves to any class community. This tale not only reflect traditional values but it provides many opportunities for spin off activities.

Parents will love the vocabulary as well as the chance for their children to predict what is going to happen. Again, the values of family are apparent in this book and serve as good examples of how to treat friends. This fanciful tale with its amazing illustrations will soon become a favorite and works well as a bedtime story.

I read this story to my first grade class in my student teaching placement and they were rapt in their attention! My bilingual students took special pride in their ability to understand all the words. We also used this story as a springboard for a writing activity: "What would you do if you were as large as Doña Flor?"


My Read Aloud Page
Bibliography Info	Summary	Suggestions for Parents	Suggestions for Teachers	Personal Note
Author: Laura Numeroff Illustrator: Felicia Bond Publisher: Harper and Row 1985	This story follows the adventures of an easily distracted mouse and a young boy. The boy soon discovers that by offering his new friend a treat, he is soon catering to the mouse's whims. This circular story is wonderfully illustrated and children will delight in the silly antics of this curious critter!	The repetition in the story can help your child easily learn the words and soon they will be reading this tale along with you! As an added bonus, the mouse's adventures of cleaning and creating his own family portrait may provide inspiration for fun family activities.	Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond have collaborated on this series of books such as If You Give a Pig a Party and If You Give a Moose a Muffin. This can be a great introduction to authors and illustrators. This story provides tangible and predictable activities that facilitate prediction and summarization .	I used Laura Numeroff's books in my preschool classroom as a unit for our "Fall Literary Festival." The vivid pictures and nice correlation between illustration and text provided a comprehensible plot for my students and they thought the mouse was hilarious!

Author & Illustrator: John Steptoe Publisher: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard 1987	This is a rendition of Cinderella that portrays two sisters of an African farmer. Of course, one sister is cruel and jealous of her beautiful younger sister. There are magical themes throughout the book and it reads more like a legend than a fairy tale. It is also presented as a fable since the older, cruel sister acts selfishly while the younger sister is kind and compassionate, and both receive their just rewards.	Parents will appreciate the moral of the story and it can be a useful tool to teach compassion to children. The sibling rivalry is also addressed in this book and can be used to discuss family roles and treatment. Best of all, this tale is a deviation from the "Disney" version of CInderella, and offers a deeper and more diverse perspective on the classic children's tale.	While John Steptoe portrays this Cinderella tale from an African perspective, there are many renditions of the cinderella tale. This may serve as a wonderful opportunity ot explore other tales and expose your students to different cultural interpretations and ideas. Of special note are The Egyptian CInderella, and The Persian Cinderella. { see bottom for more info} These can serve as inspiration to research cultural legends or fables. Also, since this version differs from one that children may already be familiar with, teachers might want to have their children create their own version of a Cinderella story.	This story was a personal favorite of mine as a child. I loved the way it was presented as a legend rather than a fairy tale. Another one of my favorite African legends is Why Mosquito's Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema. {See more info at bottom} This book might be nice used in conjunction with Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters as a compare and contrast exercise.

Author : Audrey Wood Illustrator: Don Wood Publisher: Harcord, Brace, and Jovanovich 1985	"King Bidgood is in the bathtub and he won't get out!" The page announces to the court that their whimsical monarch is refusing to get out of the tub and he needs help! The queen, duke, knight, and court all try to persuade the king to get out of the tub for he has things to do. Instead he brings the activities to the tub! These vivid and intricate illustrations will enrapture even older readers.	There is excellent repetition in this book so children will soon be reading along with their parent. For young readers, this book has a nice demonstration of the progression of time through the day, and may even encourage kids to get into the tub! Finally, children will be self entertained with the intricate and captivating illustrations for hours on end.	Teachers of the very young and emergent readers will find this book useful for its simple story and good use of repetition. This story is good for predicting, since the king is so stubborn! For older readers, this entertaining book may serve as a nice introduction to monarchy or court life. There are also many "-ot" rime family words.	Again, this was a personal favorite from childhood. I loved the fanciful illustrations and thought that the best part was that the boy proves to be the smartest of all! It is also heartwarming that the page is modeled after Audrey and Don Wood's son.

Author : Pat Mora Illustrator: Raul Colòn Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers 2005	This tall tale is about a gigantic woman with an even larger heart. Doña Flor is a giant woman who cares for her pueblo, making tortillas every morning and even lets the children use her flowers as trumpets. However, the village becomes afraid of a mysterious roar and Doña Flor sets off to find its source. This elaborately illustrated story will please all the readers in your life.	Teachers will appreciate this books intertwining of both English and Spanish. This tale allows for bilingual students as well as English Learners to become class experts and the morals of compassion and generosity will easily lend themselves to any class community. This tale not only reflect traditional values but it provides many opportunities for spin off activities.	Parents will love the vocabulary as well as the chance for their children to predict what is going to happen. Again, the values of family are apparent in this book and serve as good examples of how to treat friends. This fanciful tale with its amazing illustrations will soon become a favorite and works well as a bedtime story.	I read this story to my first grade class in my student teaching placement and they were rapt in their attention! My bilingual students took special pride in their ability to understand all the words. We also used this story as a springboard for a writing activity: "What would you do if you were as large as Doña Flor?"

More Info?	Author: Shirley Climo Illustrated by: Ruth Heller	Author: Shirley Climo Illustrated by: Robert Florczak	Author: Verna Aardema Illustrated by: Leo and Diane Dillon
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