Customer Reviews

The Story of Little Black Sambo

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Well, it raises enough issues to keep literary scholars blabbing on for years and years. Following in the mighty footsteps of two other recent "Little Black Sambo" adaptations (one Fred Marcellino's "The Story of Little Babaji" and the other Julius Lester's complete reinterpretation "Sam and the Tigers") Christopher Bing's version of Helen Bannerman's original 1899 children's book is perhaps the purest retelling of the tale. Using the author's own words while replacing her pictures with beautiful woodcut-like illustrations, the story is a true labor of love.

Where to begin? When Helen Bannerman first wrote the story of Sambo for her children, she had no idea that her Beatrix Potter-like invention (both women began publishing children's books in similar ways) would be the source of so much controversy and contempt. So let's say that we're a child that has stumbled across this edition without knowing a thing about its history. To them, this is a gorgeous story filled with light and color and a young boy beating those more powerful around him. The book has stayed true to the original in that it is set in India but features black characters. So there's some danger that kids will believe some Africans live in an India-like country. Otherwise, there's not much fault (in terms of the book in and of itself) to find with this retelling. Bing has obviously spent an inordinate amount of time researching and questioning his creation. We shouldn't ignore the fact that the great Henry Louis Gates Jr. (the Chair of Afro-American Studies at Harvard, doncha know) not only approved of this work but encouraged its publication. So for me, it's a success (though I'm a little leery of the Bing picture on the bookflap presenting him as a colonist).

For some people, however, the very names of the characters (Sambo, Mumbo, and Jumbo) combined with the history of the tale are reason enough not to approve of this book. To them, a story like this can only make it seem "okay" that children be called Sambo. For others, the true crime of the original was not the story (in which a black boy outwits nasty predators) but the pictures. Remove the offending articles and replace with far better ones and the problem is completely solved. For me, I dunno. There's little doubt in my mind that Bing's book is breathtakingly beautiful. But every adult I've showed it to so far has been unable to get past the title. I would show them the gorgeous endpapers and faux aged binding (meant, I can only assume, to recreate the book as it SHOULD have appeared those one hundred odd years ago). I would patiently explain that Ms. Bannerman did not intend the story character, Sambo, to be associated with blacks in the United States. But even today the sting of that name is as powerful as ever. It may take one hundred or two hundred more years to undo some of its damage. Maybe at that point people will be able to read this particular edition for what it truly is. A loving work of beauty and skill. If you've any problems with the idea of making "Little Black Sambo" palatable to members of the 21st century, do not buy this book. If, however, you're a little curious and incredibly aware of the potential controversy engendered by this title, seriously consider buying it. At the very least, it stands as a true testament of how far we've come, and how far we've yet to go.

I saw this book in a bookstore this summer. I have been getting other editions from England to give to children as gifts. This is a magnificent book with great illustrations by Bing. I have read the other reviews and trust me that this story stands on its own to delight children. When I taught second grade the class loved to hear it. It is not racist in the least.Sambo worries that he will get into trouble when he loses all his new clothes. And children relate to getting into trouble with their parents. He uses his head to outwit the tigers and children naturally indentify with him; like they do with other hero figures in books and television and movies. He has a loving home with two parents who sit down with him to enjoy a wonderful pancake breakfast at the end of the story. Little Black Sambo is a story of a timeless hero! Stop worrying that the setting is India and the child looks African for Pete`a sake! Its FICTION!! Children don`t care about such picky details! This story has been delighting children for generations. Adults should go find something else to stew about!

Hannah Waddell
Phelps
10.6.04

Little Black Sambo Persuasive Paragraph

The story of Little Black Sambo by Helen Banneran is a children's book that is number 90 on the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000, published by the American Library Association. This book is about a family from India. The main character is a little boy by the name of Little Black Sambo. His mother's name is Black Mumba and his father's name is Black Jumbo. In the beginning of the story Black Mumba gives Black Sambo new clothes that she made him, and his father buys him a new umbrella and some shoes. Throughout the day Sambo ends up getting all of his possessions taken away from him by tigers that were threatening to eat him up. Each of the tigers had one of Little Black Sambo's things. They all fought because they all wanted to be the grandest of the whole jungle. The tigers were so angry that they started to chase each other around a tree so fast that they melted into butter. Black Jumbo came across the butter and decided to take it home for Black Mumbo. Black Mumo was very pleased with the butter and then she made pancakes for their family to eat that night. In the end Little Black Sambo got all of his things back and had a wonderful filling 169 pancakes.
This story has no reason to be on the most frequently challenged book list because for one, it is a classic, and two, because inside of the cover there is a lesson to be learned for all people who read it. That lesson is that no matter what you have in the long run, you will end up the same way as everyone else. If the book had to do with other characters, then people would not be censoring it because they think it has to do with racism. No books, especially this one, should be banned or censored because not everyone thinks the same things about what is printed in black and white for citizens of all ages to read. Little Black Sambo is a wonderful and entertaining book that lots of children and adults around the world have read and should continue to read throughout the pages of time.

This is a delightful book with excellent illustrations. Anyone who feels this book is racist may be a bit of one themself.
I had the book as a child and was always fascinated by the tigers turning into butter. I grew up without prejudice or racism and have friends of all races and nationalities. People need to start being open-minded again and not read bad or "politically incorrect" things into everything. This is a very good child's book and I would recommend it. I am very happy it is still in print and I could purchase it at such a reasonable price.

I had to have this book when I saw it in the store. The illustrations are rich and beautiful, but what really sold me was the look of the book. It's made to look like a hundred-year-old book, with torn pages and spine and worn gilding. It looks like dearly-beloved books I have in my own library, treasures from my childhood. I especially loved the claw mark on the cover; a tiger has been here! And the postcards and letters reproduced on the endpapers take me back to a magical world, the world of Mary Lennox in the opening pages of "The Secret Garden."

I've loved this story for 45 years, despite its unfortunate connotations. This illustrator has tried to reclaim it. I wonder if maybe enough time has passed and the world has changed enough for that to be possible. I asked for this book at one bookstore, and the young black clerk had never heard of it. Certainly the beautiful, resourceful child in these illustrations bears no resemblance to the bug-eyed stereotype in the original. I do wish that he'd drawn an Indian child, to fit the backgrounds, but I understand why he made the child African. The story is a fantasy; if we can believe that tigers would wear shoes on their ears and turn into melted butter, maybe it's possible to accept this African family in India.

I read the book out loud to my husband, and he laughed until he cried at those ridiculous tigers. "Now I'm the grandest tiger in the jungle. Grrrr!"

gorgeous illustrations and great font. my grandchild (not yet three) was spellbound.

I ordered this book for my four year-old who has fallen in love with the story from my grandfather telling it to her by heart. I was stunned at how beautiful this book is--the illustrations alone are worth the price but the most interesting parts to me were the two cover and closing pages with Christopher Bing's Indian postcards and trinkets. Stunning edition. My Christmas shopping for next year is taken care of with another order of these books.

My kids love it just like I did and it arrived quickly and in good condition.

This book is beautifully made, and features a strong, clever boy of color who gets gifts from his parents, outwits the tigers, and feeds his family by his cleverness. I have liked every book Christopher Bing has worked on, and think this is one of the best. I am certain I do not want to perpetuate a stereotype or raise my children with any racism, but I do no think that this incarnation of the book does that.

I've owned many copies of this book because I loved it as a child and so did my kids and now my grandkids. But this book is definitely the best of all the books because the original story is still there but the illustrations give the story a whole new life. My kids had an older version with simple pictures but this one that I bought for my grandkids is just so visually beautiful that my grandkids are just engrossed in the pictures. The book is hard covered and big and made to look old which also fascinates my grandkids. I was so impressed with this book that I quickly bought another one for a present. The price was great too.