Customer Reviews
Racism,Are we going to far? - By: callow.family@btinternet.com, 03 Apr 2001 
A wonderful wonderful story,which takes me far back into my childhood.I have searched for this edition for my two year old son,for i am sure he will enjoy it as much as i did.Do i worry that it will make him a racist ,certainly not.Children learn how to be racist from human behaviour, not from storybooks!
FOUR TIGERS MAKE 251 PANCAKES - By: , 01 Feb 2001 .
Is there a stronger imagein children's literature than the angry tigers that grab each other's tails, run around the palm tree, faster & faster until they melt into a big pool of butter?
The tigers intimidated the little boy (who just happens to be called Sambo) into handing over his beautiful new clothes. He is the smart heroin this classic story.
The real lessonin this tale is shownin the fate of the tigers. Their greed & arrogance leads to an argument over "who is the grandest" when dressedin Sambo's clothes. They get so angry with each other that they forget why they are fighting but just go on getting angrier until they chase each other into oblivion. We see avarice, leading to pride, aggression, & ultimately to destruction. This is a profound lesson for all of us.
The big jar of melted butter (ex-tiger) that Sambo's dad collected from under the palm tree let Mom cook up a big pile of pancakes to feed all the family.
The only criticism that can be levelled of this book is "tigerism".
Make sure you get a genuine re-issue of Miss Bannerman's 1921 original classic not one of the bowdlerized (and supposedly sanitized) "updates". The 21 illustrationsin the original have a delightfully naïve quality & form an essential part of this book. Look out for other booksin the " Wee Books for Wee Folk" series. They will take you back to the more innocent & less complex world known to our grandparents. There was wisdom to be had back then too.
My favorite book as a child! - By: , 19 Jan 1999 I loved this book as a child & my kids have also loved it. I have a later addition but I am forever looking for the Golden Book version I had when I was little! I see no reason why this book was banned from some schools when everyone I've ever met has loved the story for its contents!
a funny classic of children's literature - By: , 30 Jan 1998 Written by a British woman livingin India at the turn of the century to entertain her two daughters, Little Black Sambo quickly became a funny classic of children's literature (modern fantasy). It is a tale of a jolly, resourceful little boy who gives away his red coat & his blue trousers & his purple shoes & his green umbrella to the different tigers who want to eat him up. Then the tigers fight over which is the grandest tiger, & chase each other around a tree, not letting go of each others' tails until they turn into butter. Little Black Sambo rescues his clothing & his father takes the melted butter home so his mother can make pancakes. They all sit down to supper & Little Black Sambo eats the most pancakes because he is so very hungry.
This book has the language of story-telling which appeals to children. It is also good to let children play-act out the story. The pictures illustrate the story with humor as well. The simple words, & the highly effective repetition, capture the attention of both reader & listener, frightening them just enough to excite them.
One of the most successful books ever written for the two-to-five age group, each picture exactly illustrates a momentin the story. The text & pictures present non-white people as livingin entirely primitive conditions, & as having no culture. Sambo communicates with animals, which seemed to imply that he is inferior, & close to the animal world. The illustrations are crudely drawn, grinning stereotypes with clownish eyes & huge mouths. The situation "Oh! Please Mr. Tiger, don't eat me up & I'll give you my beautiful little Red Coat" is the picture of the always docile black. Sambo's parents are called Black Jumbo & Black Mumbo, & these names are rather apt to harbor racial & religious intolerance (asin the phrase "mumbo-jumbo").
At the time she was writing the story, black had no unpleasant significance. Indians were quite prepared to talk about black; the derogatory idea creptin later. Bannerman did not have any sort of color prejudice: black was used to make an interesting story for children & a black child was a more romantic figure for a white child to read about. It was inevitable that a woman of Bannerman's background & period would think & write as she did. Her outlook is certainly racistin the context of today, & would have no placein a multi-racial society.
This book has been repeatedly challenged as an acceptance of white superiority, & is still banned from libraries, showing an awareness of the deep roots of racismin our history, culture, & language.
Popular demand trumps political correctness - By: , 31 Jul 1997 
Mrs. Bannerman wrote a charming tale for her children & illustrated it herself -- perhaps notin the finest style, but that1s all part of the familiarity of the book to those of us who read & enjoyed it as children. Congratulations to the publisher for bringing it back after the undeserved flak about 3racism.2 Actually, there is an Indian folk tale about a brave rabbit & a fierce tiger (foundin early editions of the CHILDCRAFT series, reprinted from a book called HINDU FABLES FOR LITTLE CHILDREN by Dhan Gopal Mukerji) which Mrs. Bannerman may well have heard during her sojournin India & adapted for her own story. Perhaps someone might explore that possible source.
