The Story of Little Babaji

Rating:
Summary: Creative Story about an Indian Boy, With Great Illustrations
Review: I enjoyed this 67-page book because of the creativity of its story and its wonderful, animated illustrations. I also like the fact that it has an Indian male protagonist because so few books do.

This is a great story to read aloud to kids age 2 and up, but it's also a great book for kids, who are age 4-8, to read by themselves. Kids will like the repetition of the tigers' speech and the captivating color drawings. They will also like to see a little boy outsmart 4 big tigers in the jungle.

My only complaint is that the story is made up of several run-on sentences and sentence fragments. For this, I take away one star, but the book is very enjoyable overall. I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: I am so glad my children can enjoy this!!
Review: I remember so vividly my "Tell-a-Tale" book of "Little Black Sambo." It was one of my favorites, and I can distinctly hear my mother's voice reading it to me. None of us thought of it being racist at the time, and while I can understand why it was banned, I always mourned its passing. While I also like another recent version of this story, "Sam and the Tigers," "Little Babaji" has the exact text that I remember. It makes so much more sense to have an Indian family, because as my son says, "There are no tigers in Africa." What a lovely reminder of my childhood, and what beautiful illustrations. Now the only problem is that I don't know which of my children to give it to!

Rating:
Summary: This is not just a PC version of a classic children's tale
Review: If you asked most children today about "The Story of Little Black Sambo," they would probably just give you a puzzled look. Helen Bannerman's story, first published in 1899 and enshrined at one point at Sambo restaurants around the country (specializing in pancakes), is transformed by Fred Marcellino into what might be dismissed by some as simply a political correct version of the original. But to tell you the truth, the part that first offended me about the original story was the implication that there were tigers in Africa. Of course, eventually my eyes were opened to the story's more racist elements. Marcellino's version of the story is clearly set in India, with perfectly innocuous names (Babaji, Papaji and Mamaji) and there is a "soft" quality to his artwork that enhances the telling of the tale. For my money this is an acceptable and worthwhile transformation of Bannerman's story, which is still available, albeit more as a curiosity. Children today can read "The Story of Little Babaji" and have no inkling that this is probably the most controversial children's story ever written. I would even argue there would be some value in telling them about the original version, so they can appreciate the reason for Marcellino's alterations. However, some of them might have concerns about eating all that butter...

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Kid's Book
Review: This is my favorite kid's book--and I've read a lot of books to my four-year-old! The illustrations are simply wonderful and the story is great. It just begs you to use funny voices as you read. I buy it as a gift for every birthday party.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Version of Little Black Sambo
Review: Wonderfully revised version of the story of Little Black Sambo. Beautifully illustrated. If you grew up like I did with the little golden book version of Little Black Sambo and you absolutely loved the story this is the version for you.The name of the boy has been changed and he is depicted as an Indian child as he should have been since the story takes place in India and there are no tigers in Africa.This is a delightful story of a boy who outwits the tigers that want to eat him for their lunch.Instead of dwelling on what was supposedly a racist story, I think people should comment on the child's intelligence and the imagination he used in saving himself from the tigers. Children have loved this story for generations.This version keeps with the original story with the exception of the name change and the illustrations are fabulous they are the best I have seen in any version of this story. There are plenty of versions of Little Black Sambo out there , but this is definitely the best .

Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Story, Rescued!
Review: Yes, it's the old, old story of "Little Black Sambo," written a century ago by Bannerman, an Englishwoman living in India---but here, thank goodness, reworked, revised, rescued! With all the nasty bits replaced. Authentic Indian names are used, and the wonderful illustrations by Fred Marcellino place it firmly in India, where it always belonged. The story itself has never been anything but terrific---the boy is brave, resourceful, and clever, gets himself out of a life-threatening situation, and his parents are loving and generous---but the weighty baggage of colonialism and racism (we won't even go into the history of British imperialism in India) prevented it from being enjoyed by anyone. As the book stands now, it can join the ranks of useful, funny, multicultural classics. Plus, it's a great story to read aloud, and kids like it.