The Story of Little Babaji

The Story of Little Babaji

by Helen Bannerman

illustrated by Fred Marcellino

This is a gorgeous picture book. The story is a retelling of the classic "Little Black Sambo" story. The story is virtually unchanged, but the characters are given more politically-correct names, and its setting is more transparently Indian. It's a great little story about a boy whose fine clothes are taken by tigers. He then gets them back while the tigers are preoccupied with fighting with one another. There are a few especially choice moments (and corresponding illustrations) when tigers are wearing shoes on their ears or tying umbrellas to their tails. The story is charming and the new illustrations are beautiful. I also really like the small square format of the book. I used this book for my preschool lesson on jungle animals and all the kids loved it and were captivated even though it is slightly longer than my usual picks for that age range.