When author Constance Levy tried to lead a discussion on the children's book "The Story of Little Black Sambo" while teaching a college class in 1980, she caused an uproar.

Twenty-seven years later, she again arrived in a college environment to discuss the book, but this time, she met with eager faces and applause.

Washington University marked the acquisition of its "One Hundred Years of Little Black Sambo" collection with a reception Oct. 12 at Olin Library. Most of the collection's 234 items — including books, puzzles, dishes, games and figurines — were created between 1899 and 1999 and were purchased in part through the financial support of Levy and her late husband Monroe; the Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences; and the University Libraries.

The collection will be housed in Olin Library's Department of Special Collections. To make an appointment to see the collection, call 935-5495, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

"The collection is hugely important in support of the University's Children's Studies minor," said Gerald L. Early, Ph.D., the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters and director of the Center for the Humanities. "Anything that will increase the scholarly interest in children's literature and the study of objects marketed to children is vital to those of us invested in this minor. 'Little Black Sambo' is one of the most important and problematic children's books in the English-speaking world."

"The Story of Little Black Sambo" was written by Helen Bannerman, a native of Scotland, and was intended to entertain her daughters, 6 and 3, who were living with her and her husband William in colonial India. It was published as a children's book in 1899, and the story quickly spread across the Western world.

According to her biographer, Elizabeth Hay, Bannerman intended for "The Story of Little Black Sambo" to be seen as the lighthearted story of a clever Indian boy who outsmarted his enemies. But as time passed, others rewrote the story, setting the tale outside of India in the American South or in Africa, and illustrated the book using racial stereotypes.

To combat the unflattering depiction of black children in subsequent versions of "Little Black Sambo" and other literature of the period, the NAACP launched a children's magazine, The Brownies Book, in 1920, and many black authors wrote books specifically for children. By the 1960s, amid allegations of racism, "Little Black Sambo" largely had disappeared from children's libraries and bookstores.

The original story begins when Little Black Sambo receives a new, colorful outfit from his parents. While walking in the jungle in his finery, Little Black Sambo is confronted by a series of tigers. He convinces each tiger to not eat him in exchange for a piece of his new clothing until all of his new garments are gone.

A few moments later, Little Black Sambo hears the tigers fighting amongst themselves over which is the grandest. The tigers remove the pilfered clothing and begin fighting, finally chasing themselves around a tree until they are transformed into a pool of melted butter. Little Black Sambo puts his clothes back on, and his father brings the butter home to his mother, who uses it to make pancakes for the family.

"When I read the 'Little Black Sambo' for the first time, I think I was about 5 years old," Early told the group gathered for the collection's Oct. 12 unveiling. "I remember I read it in the library, and I went home and told my mom, 'Oh, I want pancakes!' She thought I was nuts. But she did cook me pancakes the next day. It was a book that really impressed me as a child, and I remember reading it many times."

These three books, published between 1899 and 1949, are just a few versions of the "Little Black Sambo" story that have appeared on children's bookshelves.

Levy, who received an Arts & Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004, is an award-winning children's poet. Her books include "Splash! Poems of Our Watery World" (2002) and "A Crack in the Clouds" (1998), both Lee Bennett Hopkins Award winners. Levy has taught children's literature in college and the first and second grades.