Helen Bannerman was born Brodie Cowan Watson, at Edinburgh, Scotland in 1863, the daughter of a Scottish minister. She married a surgeon serving in the British Army of India and spent thirty years of her life there. In 1898 she published the first and most famous of her books, The Story of Little Black Sambo, which she had written to amuse her two little girls. Once upon a time there was an English lady, who had two small daughters. To amuse these little girls in India, where black children abound and tigers are everyday affairs, she used to now and then invent stories, for which, being extremely talented, she also drew and coloured the pictures. The Story of Little Black Sambo, which was made up on a long railway journey, was the favourite. Little Black Sambo's publication in 1899 earned Bannerman recognition as an innovator in picture books. At that time her bright, unrefined illustrations, suspenseful narrative, and rhythmic, repetitive sentences were considered unique. The small size of the book, also a new feature, made it easy for children to hold in their hands. Originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, Bannerman spent much of her childhood abroad. Her father's career as an army chaplain took him to various parts of the British Empire as well as to Madeira, located off the west coast of North Africa. Bannerman was educated by her father until age ten and then was sent to school in Scotland; she later studied French and German and received her L.L.A. degree from London's St. Andrew's University through correspondence courses. In 1889 she married William Burney Bannerman, who was in the Indian Medical Service.The couple spent thirty years in India; Dr. Bannerman worked in the city of Madras, located in the hot southern area of the country. Because of the incidence of plague and other tropical diseases, low-lying Madras was not considered a safe environment for children. Therefore the Bannermans' children spent a season each year in the hills with their nanny, in a town called Kodaikanal. Unwilling to leave her husband for an entire season each year, Bannerman lived in Madras but would make the two-day rail journey to Kodaikanal when she could. According to her daughter Day, Bannerman penned Little Black Sambo during one of these long trips in an effort to comfort her two daughters as well as herself. The girls were thrilled with the little book. Alice Bond, a friend of Bannerman's, was also impressed and suggested that the book be published. Although she had not written it with publication in mind, Bannerman agreed to let Bond take the book to publishers in London, requesting only that she be allowed to retain the copyright. Bond showed Bannerman's picture book to publisher Grant Richards, who immediately offered to buy the copyright for five British pounds. Lacking the time to write Bannerman for approval, and not wanting to jeopardize the publication of the book, Bond reluctantly agreed. Above and right: In the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s other editions of "Little Black Sambo" were released, particularly out of the USA. Since neither Bannerman nor Richards retained the copyright, the story often appeared with illustrations other than the author's own. Click on the images to see larger copies of these drawings. The story relates the jungle adventures of the title character. In a fantasy setting that mixes elements of Africa and India, the hero, wearing bright clothes, encounters four tigers. As each tiger threatens to devour him, Sambo ingeniously offers each one a piece of his clothing instead. The tigers are pleased with their new finery, but argue over who is the grandest tiger in the jungle. As the tigers scuffle, Sambo retrieves his clothing and escapes. The tigers chase each other around a tree, spinning so fast that they melt away and become a pool of butter. At this point Sambo's father, Black Jumbo, passes by and collects the butter, which is used to make pancakes by Sambo's mother, Black Mumbo. The family sits down to eat, and the particularly hungry Sambo finishes 169 tiger-colored pancakes. Still in print after almost one hundred years, Little Black Sambo has delighted children for generations, achieving a long-lasting popularity not matched by Bannerman's other work. Critics have praised the book as entertaining and humorous; Elizabeth Gard commented that "it's not difficult to see why Little Black Sambo has always been the favourite.... Each picture exactly illustrates a moment in the story.... The simple words, and the highly effective repetition ... rivet the attention of both reader and listener. Mrs. Bannerman seems to have fallen completely instinctively into just the right style for children." A version of the story from India. Various covers. Critics have also observed that Bannerman presents one of the first black heroes in children's literature. Little Black Sambo was initially regarded as a book that positively portrayed black characters, especially in comparison to the more negative books of the time that depicted blacks as simple and uncivilized. As racial consciousness grew in America and Great Britain in the mid-twentieth century, however, Little Black Sambo became an object of harsh criticism and heated debate. Charging that Bannerman presents a patronizing view of blacks, some educators recommended that the book be removed from library shelves; others defended the book as a harmless product of a bygone era. Complicating this issue were the various American. versions of Little Black Sambo that were published in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Since neither Bannerman nor Richards retained the copyright, the story often appeared with illustrations other than the author's own, pictures that are generally considered stereotypical in their portrayal of blacks in jungle or plantation settings Bannerman's own illustrations, however, also came under fire. Some critic found the caricatures of blacks in Little Black Sambo and Bannerman's other works demeaning. In 1947 a critic asserted that "the original illustrations use all the usual stereotypes found in malicious cartoons of Negroes... the thick lips, the rolling eyes, the bony knees, the fuzzy hair." The names that Bannerman used for her characters also drew reproach. Some critics charged that the names of Sambo's parents, Mumbo and Jumbo, make the characters seem like objects of ridicule. In a letter written to the London Times in 1972, Bannerman's son, Robert said "My mother would not have published the book had she dreamt for a moment that even one small boy would have been made unhappy thereby". Covers from the USA. The small size of the book, also a new feature, made it easy for children to hold in their hands. Click on the book to see some new images we´ve just added to the web site.