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Helen Bannerman

The Story of Little Black Sambo Hardcover – January 21, 1923

by Helen Bannerman (Author, Illustrator)

1,206 ratings

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$0.99

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Hardcover

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$7.84

$2.06

Hardcover, January 21, 1923

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$111.00

$18.73

Paperback

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$4.90

$2.82

Spiral-bound

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$175.00

The jolly and exciting tale of the little boy who lost his red coat and his blue trousers and his purple shoes but who was saved from the tigers to eat 169 pancakes for his supper, has been universally loved by generations of children. First written in 1899, the story has become a childhood classic and the authorized American edition with the original drawings by the author has sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

Little Black Sambo is a book that speaks the common language of all nations, and has added more to the joy of little children than perhaps any other story. They love to hear it again and again; to read it to themselves; to act it out in their play.

Reading age

4 - 8 years
Print length

64 pages
Language

English
Grade level

Kindergarten - 3
Dimensions

4 x 0.43 x 5.38 inches
Publisher

HarperCollins
Publication date

January 21, 1923
ISBN-10

0397300069
ISBN-13

978-0397300068
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Product details

Publisher : HarperCollins; Authorized American Edition (January 21, 1923)
Language : English
Hardcover : 64 pages
ISBN-10 : 0397300069
ISBN-13 : 978-0397300068
Reading age : 4 - 8 years
Grade level : Kindergarten - 3
Item Weight : 3.68 ounces
Dimensions : 4 x 0.43 x 5.38 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #862,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,011 in Censorship & Politics
- #1,101 in Children's Multicultural Literature
- #5,383 in Children's Classics

Customer Reviews:
1,206 ratings

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Customer reviews

5 star		74%
4 star		10%
3 star		7%
2 star		2%
1 star		7%

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Top reviews from the United States

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luap

Not the horrid book one would assume.

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

OK. Not PC, but this is the book I read as a child, and I was curious to look at it again. Although not PC, I think it is pretty harmless and does not denigrate. Yes, it depicts people with dark skin, but they are Indian, not US Blacks. The mother does resemble Aunt Jemima, but it could also be a South Asian. And, Sambo outsmarts the tigers, so, he is hardly a character of ridicule.

58 people found this helpful

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Allison Mumphrey

A childhood favorite

Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2018

Verified Purchase

When I was a kid in the early 80’s, I would go visit my grandparents. They had this book when it was a Little Golden book. Since then LGB probably decided the 1923 character descriptions & names in this book were not what they wanted their name attached to. Which I get. The book is way behind in times as far as race. However, I love this book. This book brings back memories of being at my grandparent’s house. I loved being there. And I miss them terribly. So when I saw this book was available on Amazon I had to buy it. I’m so glad I did. Reading it again definitely put a smile on my face.

26 people found this helpful

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maureen

Black and white, not colored pictures.

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2015

Verified Purchase

The pictures are in black and white! The original art work is rich in jeweled colors and exquiste. Don't buy this!!! Get a colored picture version. It is not described well on the website. Beware. This is a cheap reprint of a wonderfully told old story. Don't buy this! Very disappointed. Will return.

58 people found this helpful

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DJG

Paperback book is full of defective miss copied pages!

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

The cover is well done with colorful illustrations. However the pages inside are misprinted! I have posted a few of the many pages that have a blank stripe in the middle of the page.it looks like the publisher scanned/photocopied the pages from another source.
Description states colorful illustrations but as you can see, from the photos I’ve taken, they are in black and white.
I found the illustrations to be very racially offensive and they do not depicting a boy, or family, from South India!

4 people found this helpful

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Ramona S. Rowe

It’s a classic, I believe.

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

I’ve always loved this story. My teachers used to read it to us. Of course, being in my late 60’s that was before all the complaints on race & we knew nothing about political correctness. I just think it’s a classic piece of literature & always thought it based in Africa where lions & tigers roam(ed) free.

15 people found this helpful

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RES

read it: not racist, but about a clever ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

read it: not racist, but about a clever boy outsmarting a bunch of tigers....tale from India
it is the original version....

29 people found this helpful

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T. Kroepfl

Chilehood Favorite

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

As a child this story was a childhood favorite. Today with my multiracial children it has been a great tool to help teach about how wrong the book itself was when it was written. You have to take the characters as portrayed as a snapshot of the times they were written in. And as I said for a children's book it is a good teaching tool to start a conversation with kids about race and poor perceptions.

8 people found this helpful

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artist life

really bad photo copy in black and white

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

i couldve dont better on my librarys photo copier. atrociously bad print quality. black and white and couldnt even see details.
they should be ashamed to even sell this garbage.
so disappointed because I loved this story as a child but this product is an insulting rip off.

14 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Cider Sam

Atrocious Edition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

Do not buy this! I know the story is politically incorrect but the illustrations in the original were a joy and their absence makes this a meaningless tale.
How can anyone envisage his "fine clothes"?
The publisher should be ashamed.
Definitely no stars, only one by default
Cider Sam

3 people found this helpful

Lucy

Classic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2017

Verified Purchase

A classic. I re-read this for the first time in probably more than 50 years, and was struck by how the attitude that it was racist literature that perpetuates racial stereotypes is really missing the point. It respects the character's (e.g. the parent's) skills and wish to provide the best for their child while providing a cautionary tale that is quite typical of the times. To me it retains a charm and simplicity. If a conscious parent reads this with their child, they can discuss those aspects, such as the caricatured drawings, which may seem to contribute to stereotypes.

7 people found this helpful

macmahn

Museum piece.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2019

Verified Purchase

Amazed this work of a bygone age of British imperialism is still available... but a reminder of just how bad it was (and still can be). A relic? An terrible warning?

4 people found this helpful

correne brown

Old favourite

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

Not so pc these days but I remembered it as a child and love the pictures and story . I will be sharing with my grandchild .

5 people found this helpful

Mr Bomb.

Great little story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2016

Verified Purchase

Great little story, takes me back to my child hood. My junior school teacher used to read this story to us just before afternoon prayers before we went home. It was back in the dark ages of the 1970's. Oh how things have changed.( my 5 year old has been asked to bring his favourite book to school for book day, Who dares me!) or should I just sent him with Little black Mingo instead!

10 people found this helpful

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