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The Story of Little Black Sambo Hardcover – November 1, 2003

by
Helen Bannerman (Author)
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Helen Bannerman (Author), Christopher Bing (Illustrator)
4.1 out of 5 stars 509 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Grade Level: Preschool - 7
  • Hardcover: 40 pages
  • Publisher: Chronicle Books; 1 edition (November 1, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1929766556
  • ISBN-13: 978-1929766550
  • Product Dimensions: 13 x 9 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (509 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,298,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsLittle Black Sambo
By jean holbrook on August 27, 2001
Format: Hardcover
I was given this book as a child, Sambo was my hero because he outwitted the tiger, I still love pancakes. As an African American grand-parent, I feel no offense, it is more about bullies, no matter what color.
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5.0 out of 5 starscrazy people
By T. Cernetic on June 16, 2005
Format: Hardcover
I remember reading this book as a child and loving the great exciting story. It just so happens that I grew up in Bangladesh which used to be part of India. I knew about the jungle, I knew about the tigers. I had inherited this book from my parents and grandparents and found it a delightful tale, quite similar to some of the Bengalis folk tales. My brother's best friend (Nazrul Islam was his given name)had the nickname by his family and friends of Kalo (in bangla it means black) because he had midnight dark skin. He was a terribly good looking boy (I had a small crush on him as a child) and never once did I or anyone else think of his nickname as degrading or insulting. He was just Kalo. When I returned to the US years later I was shocked to find that my little story book was the center of a great racial controversy. It was so crazy. It was a little book from India where some lady used the local customs and tales to write a story. When people criticize the book for being racist, all they are really doing is criticizing the culture of India. People are given Nicknames as descriptives in the Indian subcontinent. My nickname was Mamonie (little one). It just boggles my mind that people can find horror in even the most innocent simple things. And for those people who claim racism, watch yourself. For you are showing yourself biased against the culture of other people!
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5.0 out of 5 starsSanity reigns over "political correctness"
By L D Lucia on May 4, 2000
Format: Hardcover
Wonderful children's book and one I've heard and read over and over when I was young - glad it's back in print.
As a child I marveled at Sambo's ingeniousness in outsmarting the tigers and, in fact, maybe even being smarter than some adults. It never occurred to me that the parents names might be derogatory, if anything the names sounded exotic: Black Jumbo and Black Mumbo. Children are innocent and see things in a clean, clear manner. Whatever is considered "bad" in this book is the manufacture of over-sensitive adults.
This is a great classic and belongs in every library along with Grimm's Fairy Tales and Aesop Fables. One can revisit the magic of childhood through "Little Black Sambo".
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5.0 out of 5 starsQuite likely increased my cross-cultural interest...
By A Customer on August 17, 1999
Format: Hardcover
As a child I admired Little Black Sambo! I honestly think that reading this book (Little Goilden Book edition) time and again at my Grandparents' home, gave me an appreciation for other cultures. Sambo was very clever and brave. His family was loving and intact. What characteristics to revere! I always wished I could be his friend and have tiger pancakes with him : - ) I have gone on to have many healthy and treasured friendships with internationals(including a roommate from Bangladesh) and minored in cross-cultural communication. This book has in no way influenced me toward prejudice!
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5.0 out of 5 starsLET'S NEVER LOSE THE CLASSICS
By A Customer on October 9, 2000
Format: Hardcover
The story of little black Sambo is truly a classic from all who remember it from our childhood.Helen Bannerman wrote this story for her two little children while traveling with them by train across India. If people would LOOK AT THE ILLUSTRATIONS they would see that Sambo is a little Indian boy from India, continents away from America and the Cival war and or South. I ran 2 independant bookstores some 12 to 14 years ago and when I finally found THE STORY OF LITTLE BLACK SAMBO in print again I'd order maybe 60 copies a week and could not keep this wonderful little storybook in stock. Almost every buyer were grandparents who could not wait to introduce their grandchildren to a book we all knew and loved. It is a must have for all collectors of wonderful literature!
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4.0 out of 5 starsThey do not want it Sam I am
By E. R. Bird HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER on April 28, 2004
Format: Hardcover
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).Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA Childhood Favorite

I never thought this story racial and in fact when my grandmother first read it to me it was just about a little boy who lived in another country. Read more

Published 10 days ago by D. Spharler
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Oldy but goody

Published 13 days ago by Michael Gransee
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is a classic.

One of my childhood favorites.

Published 14 days ago by Jason Roberson
5.0 out of 5 starsA classic book

A classic book that I remember fondly from my childhood in the 60's. This story got a bad rap during the desegregation years. Read more

Published 15 days ago by Janieh
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A classic book, was impressed with the quality of this late issue.

Published 1 month ago by Rick Brwn
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great original

Published 1 month ago by Carol Farmer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Classic.

Published 1 month ago by Jolene C. Bolinger
5.0 out of 5 starshis beautiful clothes, and the tigers

A book from my childhood that I am now sharing with my grandchildren. They are four and are only intrigued by the story of Little Black Sambo, his beautiful clothes, and the... Read more

Published 1 month ago by T. Sipes
5.0 out of 5 starsStill able to get a copy of this story. So glad.

I wanted a copy of this book for my library as when I was young it was one of my favorite stories .. Read more

Published 1 month ago by marionnorm
1.0 out of 5 starsPoor quality

Very poor quality print-on-demand book. illustrations not in color. layout is terrible.

Published 1 month ago by James

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