First published in 1901, "The Story of Little Black Mingo" is now a child's classic. Written by Helen Bannerman, the wife of a British surgeon stationed in England, this little book has all the qualities of "The Story of Little black Sambo, the author's best known work. Mingo is full of suspenseful, ludicrous narrative where the young Indiangirl becomes a heroine. The pages are brimful of amusing, exotic, brightly colored illustrations.
Anne Mud Cabaniss
Marshal, Virginia

Read as a Dodo Press electronic download.

For whatever the observation is worth, Mingo, like Bannerman's more well-known [b:Little Black Sambo|146665|The Story of Little Black Sambo|Helen Bannerman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172181609s/146665.jpg|870803], takes place in India; the "black" does not refer to Africans but to South Indians or Taqmils. Like Sambo, Mingo is a child who outsmarts an aggressive animal. In this case, it's an Indian crocodile (the Mugger, Crocodylus palustris) whose fate makes turning into butter seem benign. Illustrations by Bannerman. ( )