One of
the most controversial children’s books is Helen Bannerman’s The Story
of the Little Black Sambo, published by Harper Collins in 1899.Lambeth
Hochwald reviews the controversy about the original publication and discusses
two new revisions of the book: The Story of Little Babaji, illustrated
by Fred Marcellino, and Sam and the Tigers, retold by Julius Lester
and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
In the
discussion about the 1899 story, Hockwald points out the derogatory names
of black Munbo and Black Jumbo and the stereotypical illustrations in which
the family is depicted with full red lips and exaggerated white coloring
for the eyes.Even though the book
remained controversial and was removed from many libraries in the 1970's
the original edition still sells about 20,000 copies a year.
The two
new versions provide excellent discussion topics as student’s of children’s
literature compare the two new versions with the original text and illustrations.For
example, Marcellino retains much of the original text, but gives the characters
new names and places the illustrations in a setting in India.The
Lester and Pinkney collaboration is set in the American South of the 1920's.
As you
read the two new versions and compare them with the original text, consider
your responses to all three books.Did
the new versions eliminate the reasons for the original controversy?If
the reasons for the original controversy were not eliminated, how did the
revisions change the stereotypical topic?