The Story of Little Black Sambo

The Story of Little Black Sambo

written by Helen Bannerman

Illustrated by Christopher Bing

Published by Handprint Books

©2003

32 pages

Genre is Multicultural

This book was recommended to me by a friend. When she handed it to me, I thought it looked like a really good book! Boy, was I right?! This book tells the story of a little boy named, Sambo, who gets all these grand items from his father and is extremely happy! However, when walking through the jungle one day, he comes across a tiger who says he's going to eat him. What is Little Black Sambo going to do? 

The illustrations of this book give it an almost antique, weathered looking read. The illustrations all involve bright and beautiful images. I read up on the author who has been drawing every since he was a child. He takes time and puts a lot of detail into each illustration he creates. When looking at his pictures in the book, this is very evident! His artwork is very creative and will definitely catch the eye of young readers!

This book is appropriate for all readers and could definitely be used in a classroom setting! Since the book is in a multicultural genre, then is could be used to open discussion for different cultures in the classroom! Students could use it to create their own reports of different cultures throughout the world and present them to the class. This would help students become more aware of different cultures.