From Powells.com
Staff recommendations, guest essays, and curated reading lists.
Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
“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
About the Author
Julius Lester is a celebrated author whose accolades include a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Award. He is also a National Book Award finalist, a National Book Critics Circle nominee, and a recipient of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. In addition to his critically acclaimed writing career, Mr. Lester has distinguished himself as a civil rights activist, musician, photographer, radio talk-show host, and professor. For 32 years he taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He lives in western Massachusetts.