Sam and the Tigers
- Book Review,
by Julius Lester
Amazon.com
In the original story by Helen Bannerman, Little Black Sambo must tread carefully, lest his clothes be stolen from him by a gang of tigers. Today, it is the teller of the tale who must tread carefully, lest the forces of political correctness attack, charging racism. Because of the names she chose for her characters, the book has become a symbol of intolerance in the century since it was written. Strip away race, however, and the tale underneath is both simple and affecting. To make it more palatable to modern readers, Julius Lester has recast the tale in a "Southern black storytelling voice."
From Publishers Weekly
Troubled by the racist trappings?the characters' names and the stereotypical illustrations?of The Story of Little Black Sambo, but drawn nonetheless to its hero and its humor, Lester and Pinkney set out to reinvent the tale. Their interpretation is more freewheeling than Fred Marcellino's (see The Story of Little Babaji, above), and they departs frequently and ingeniously from Bannerman's version. The new book's protagonist is simply Sam; the setting is the land of Sam-sam-sa-mara, where everyone is named Sam?a touch that not only defuses any echoes of the original hero's derogatory name, but allows for many wonderfully absurd exchanges ("Sam looked at Sam. Sam shrugged. Sam shrugged back...."). Using the lively Southern black voice of his Uncle Remus retellings, Lester creates a savvy, comically streetwise hero who quickly learns to anticipate the tigers' muggings (" 'You know the routine,' said the Tiger. Sam nodded and took off his pants. 'Take 'em.' ") while losing none of his own sass. Pinkney's lavish illustrations?a feast of figures, color, expressions and detail?pick up and run with the expansive mood of the text. A hip and hilarious retelling that marries the essence of the original with an innovative vision of its own. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3. A reimagining of Little Black Sambo set in Sam-sam-sa-mara, where everyone is named Sam. Lilting language and exuberant artwork give an old story bold, new, (and politically correct) life. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The New York Times Book Review, Brian Alderson
Mr. Pinkney has converted the "mythical quality" ... into pages filled with action.
From Booklist
Ages 3^-8. If you read Bannerman's Little Black Sambo as a child, you remember the wonderful story, especially the part about the tigers that turn into butter; but because of the exaggerated black stereotypes, few children see any version today. Now, nearly 100 years after the story was first published in 1899, Lester and Pinkney have stripped away the ugly racism and retold the story in a new way. As with their Tales of Uncle Remus collections, they have reclaimed a great classic for children. Lester tells it not with the simplicity of Bannerman but in an expansive black storytelling voice that's both folksy and contemporary, funny and fearful ("I'm finer than you two losers" ). Sam is shopping for school clothes with his affectionate parents; he's smart and sassy, and he gets what he wants. Then on his way to school, one tiger after another threatens to eat him up and he bargains his new clothes away ("Nice coat. It's a deal, Sam" ). The essentials are here: the snarling tigers won't let go of each other's tails, and they run so fast that they turn to butter, which Sam's mother uses to make pancakes--and Sam gets his clothes back. Pinkney's wonderfully detailed pencil-and-watercolor paintings capture the sunlit, idyllic community, where people and animals live in harmony. Only the fierce, prowling tigers are outsiders, both powerful and ridiculous. As in John Henry (1994), the whole natural world seems part of the human drama. Adults will be arguing about this book for months, in print and on the Internet, and Lester's afterword is an excellent place to start the discussion. As for kids, they'll love the book about a child hero who can outwit tigers. Hazel Rochman
From Kirkus Reviews
A sassy retelling of Little Black Sambo, set in the imaginary land of Sam-sam-sa-mara, where animals are people, too, and all the humans are named Sam. When young Sam and his parents, Sam and Sam, go into town to buy school clothes, he chooses the brightest colors he can find. No sooner does he set off down the road than he begins to lose his finery to a succession of tigers--by the last, instead of ``I'm going to eat you up,'' the tigerly greeting is, ``You know the routine.'' The proud tigers meet up, squabble until they melt down, and end up as pancakes on the Sams' table. Pinkney gives the tale a verdant setting in which even trees have faces and almost every creature, from elephants to insects, is clothed in turn-of-the-century garb. Also, unlike Fred Marcellino, whose paintings for a deftly edited reissue of the tale (The Story of Little Babaji, p. 1044) follow the original's more closely, Pinkney chooses not to show the tigers strutting their stuff; the net result is to rob the story of much of its broad irony. As usual, Lester's prose is fine and funny read-aloud, but the creative interplay of text and pictures doesn't reach the heights of this team's John Henry (1994). (Picture book. 6-8) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Book Description
Once upon a time there was a place called Sam-sam-sa-mara, where the animals and the people lived and worked together like they didn't know they weren't supposed to. There was a little boy in Sam-sam-sa-mara named Sam....
So begins this delightful telling of one of the most controversial books in children's literature, Little Black Sambo. Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney reveal at the heart of this story a lively and charming tale of a little boy who triumphs over several hungry tigers.
"Lester and Pinkney have stripped away the ugly racism and...reclaimed a great classic for children. [The] expansive black storytelling voice is both folksy and contemporary, funny and fearful." --Booklist
"Lester's wit...makes the story fresh and funny; Pinkney's watercolors have vitality and, in the tigers, magnificence." --The Horn Book
Awards:
( An ALA Notable Book
( An NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
( An American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists"
Card catalog description
Follows the adventures of a little boy named Sam when he matches wits with several tigers that want to eat him.
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