The Story of Little Black Sambo and Little Black Mingo Paperback – December 19, 2012

Story was read to me when I was a young child LONG ago. I think the story might be a little politically incorrect in this day and age, BUT that's not the story here. The story is telling how Little Black Sambo was such a smart little boy that he used his own wits and ingenuity and didn't depend on anyone else to get him out of the situation with the jungle animals. And isn't that the story for all people to learn from day one, not just in todays society? The only thing wrong with the book is that my Mother read the story to me from a little Golden Book and I liked the pictures much more than this book, but like I said before that is a minimal problem, the wording is still the same and that's what a story book is for, correct? The Little Black Mingo story I had never heard, but it also was very inspiring for people to depend on themselves to get out of some tough situations AND she was female which is wonderful for little girls to learn. Kind of like Aesop's Fables for me, which I feel are great stories for young people to learn.

As a child my Dad read us this book many times, we neither found it offensive or thought anything one way or the other of people of color. I was born in 1961 and certainly was unaware of the racial tensions of the times or the historical context. I do think people would find it wildly offensive now, but as another reviewer noted you MUST take into account the time it was written. People pretty much accepted how things were during any time in history, it's just how things WERE, right or wrong it just was. And this book represents how things were and I believe is an important historical document. Rather than getting upset, why not use it as a teaching tool? Ban it? NEVER. Stop printing it? Never, that makes you a Nazi book burner because people don't/didnt' see things your way. This is America pal, and you can't stop free speech or erase history. I love this book and its part of my childhood and my history. Obviously I am white...I do have black relatives...and if you are black? Yes, it's a part of history and it's a part of accepting how things were and seeing how they are now, and being proud of progress...not being angry at what you had no part of.

Great black history on the poor education of people of color. Highly racist book that supports it penance and white supremacy. Shocking

I was really disappointed in this copy of the book. There is not one single illustration in the entire book, save the cover photo. The font is large, as if written for a young child to read, but no pictures. I find this ironic as the book preface reference the author's artistic talent in drawing the colorful pictures, and ESP. as the preface clearly says that the pictures have been copied as 'exactly as possible in the hope you will like it as much as the two little girls did".This is NOT an $8 copy of the book. Maybe...maybe $3 value.Don't waste your money. Buy a different copy of these excellent stories.

The book Little Black Sambo, written by Helen Bannerman, was banned in most schools and libraries across the country just because of the characters name. In actuality, this book is an fable that is published as part of The Dumpy Books for Kids series that has a moral that teaches children not to be greedy like the tigers in the story.This book is great for teaching predictions because Sambo encounters multiple tigers and each on says that it wants to eat him. Sambo responds similarly each time to keep from being eaten. With the younger children, this type of story helps to improve their reading comprehension because they are learning to predict what will happen based on how characters react. It also helps children learn about how fables are written to include morals. The moral of this story is not to be greedy. The tigers are greedy after Sambo trades his beautiful clothing for his life. Each tiger believes they are the best in the jungle and they begin to fight with each other. They fight so much that they run themselves into butter, which while silly it makes the point. Students find it very funny and are still learning as they read.Little Black Sambo also gives students exposure to different types of fables from different cultures. The book includes some vocabulary that students would not normally be exposed to. This would be good for teaching children to look at the surrounding texts to decipher the word. Children can look at the illustrations and sentence structure to make meaning of the unknown vocabulary. In addition to Little Black Sambo, the book Little Black Mingo tells a similar tale with a little girl getting water from the pond and outsmarting an alligator.Both these books have surrounding controversy that goes with them. The controversy over this book is similar to that of Huckleberry Finn. This book is criticized due to its title. The author had no intention of starting the racial slur of 'sambo'. That was something that society created themselves and should not be taken out on such a classic story. The fact that the character's name is 'inappropriate' for children is not a valid statement because this book is in no way racist. The author was just telling a fable from the Indian culture.

These stories, published in 1899 and 1901 respectively, have been told to generations of children since--certainly millions of people. They endure simply because they excite the imaginations of children.Unfortunately, the name "Sambo" fell into disrepute over time for much the same reason that words like "moron" and "idiot" did: those words began to be used as perjoratives, or taken as such.But we cannot change our past without becoming liars ourselves. Read these stories to your children without worry. Put them into the context of their time and place if you like. Either way you will enjoy enlightening your children and they will benefit.You could also read them for yourself like I did. They still have their ability to transport the reader to a strange and wonderful place that is well worth visiting again.

There are some glaring issues with the story which may be unappealing to the readers of today's world. But as I reflect upon the time this book was written, it was not abnormal to write in a more crude fashion as it is today. Barring the above, I believe the story and the plot was sound with resonating characters. The twists and turns were exciting enough to keep the reader captivated.

Remembered this story from my childhood and was lovely to find the actual book. Just a story reflective of the times in which it was conceived - nothing racial about it

Cute little story; just like I remember as a child. I believe this book was "banned" because it was considered "racist", but I think it's not a story about race or colour, but a story an African grandmother would have told to her children.

子供の頃、英語劇やりました。セリフが蘇ってきました。懐かしい。。。

Pradeep Sebastian's 'The Book Hunters of Katpadi' got me here, it's a light read and the racial controversies surrounding this book did not make much sense to me, maybe it's just the wrong time now.