Description
This adaptation of Little Black Sambo was published as part of Fred Crump, Jr.’s series of African fairytale retellings. The book recasts Sambo as Mgambo Makoko, a six-year-old boy who lives with his parents in a village on the banks of the Zambesi River. On his birthday, Mgabmo receives a red ball cap, a jacket, and sneakers from his parents and ventures into the jungle. There, he encounters a trio of hungry tigers named Tango Tiger, Turbo Tiger, and Tinker Tiger. Mgambo must trade his new clothes to the tigers in exchange for his life, and the tigers dissolve into butter after disputing over which has the grandest clothing. Keeping a distinctly African American aesthetic for the young Mgambo he loses all articles of his birthday clothes save for his sneakers, perhaps as a nod to then-contemporary fashion tastes.The book concludes with Mgambo’s parents–dressed in distinctly Africanized attire–waking up the boy with a pancake birthday dinner.
This is one of the few adaptions to include a recipe (Mgambo’s Pancakes).
Creator
Fred Crump Jr.
Contributor(s)
Illustrated by Fred Crump Jr.
Publisher
Winston-Derek Publishers
Publication Date
1991
Format
28 pages; colored illustrations; 8.2 x 0.2 x 10.5 inches
Language
English