Was there a book in the 1950s called little black sambo or am i imagining it?

Question

when i was a small child at school i think i remember reading a book called little black sambo did I?

Answer 1

Yes, Helen Bannerman. My wife and I had it read to us when we were little, and I think we read it to our own children. Now of course it's banned. Very non-PC. But so is Billy Bunter, and I loved those books passionately when I was little. I curse all those stupid people who decide what you can read.

Answer 2

I have a reprint of Helen Bannerman's original book, with her illustrations. She lived in India and it was one of the stories she made up to amuse her children. Sambo and his parents, Big Jumbo and Big Mumbo, were supposed to be Indians (hence the tiger, which doesn't exist in Africa). Unfortunately, people associated Sambo with Africans and African-Americans, and it became a symbol of racist stereotypes. I don't think she meant it to be derogatory, but the title, "Little Black Sambo", was too much. If it had been called "Sambo and his New Clothes" or "Sambo and the Tigers", it might have fared better. I think it's a cute story of how he cleverly plays on the vanity of the tigers to get out of his predicament (getting eaten) and ends up eating the tigers when they melt into butter (ghee). I remember there used to be a chain of pancake restaurants called Sambo's.

Answer 3

I'm sure you did read it. "Little Black Sambo" is quite famous, and still popular in Asia. It was written by Helen Bannerman, who was a Scottish woman living in India and first published in the U.K. in 1899.
Her setting for the book was a fantasy-mix of India and the Caribbean.
Perhaps she chose the wrong illustrator, because there is certainly nothing derogatory about her story.
Oh, somebody just said "Sambo" is a bad word ... I didn't know that; I thought she gave him that as his name, not as a title. What does Sambo mean then?

Answer 4

It was around long before that. Unfortunately, it became a symbol of racism, when it was actually a very positive book. There was a reprinting last year, but I can't remember if it was in the US or UK. I heard about it on NPR. I also remember reading it as a child in the early 70's. A relative and a neighbor both had copies.

Answer 5

'The Story of Little Black Sambo', a children's book by Helen Bannerman, was first published in London in 1899. In the tale, a boy named Sambo outwits a group of hungry tigers; the little boy has to sacrifice his new red coat, his new blue trousers and his new purple shoes to four tigers, including one who wears his shoes on his ears, but Sambo outwits these predators and returns safely home, where he eats 169 pancakes for his supper! Online story on first link below, book also available to buy from Amazon (UK and USA).

Answer 6

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Answer 7

"Little Black Sambo" by Helen Bannerman was banned for many years. It's available again and you can read it online:
http://www.sterlingtimes.co.uk/sambo.htm

Answer 8

Yes there was, but it went the way of all things like the Black and White minstrel show and the gollywog in the marmalade.

Answer 9

According to Webster, "SAMBO" derives from a Sp. word "zambo", a negro, mullato, or monkey; probably derived from Bantu "nzambu" or monkey.

The book carries two burdens in the Enlish speaking world: multiculturalism, and white guilt.

Answer 10

They used to play the record when I was in infants school,I think the 'B' side was about a Red Indian?