50. "Sam and the Tigers" by Julius Lester

Julius Lester's Sam and the Tigers is a re-imagining of the story of Little Black Sambo, written and illustrated by black men who sought to reclaim the tale while removing the racist overtones. Sam, dressed in his fine clothes, encounters several tigers on the way to school. He convinces each tiger not to eat him by giving away his clothing, piece by piece. Eventually the tigers encounter each other, however, and their jealousy gives Sam the opportunity to outwit them and get his finery back.

Jerry Pinkney's illustrations add complexity and magic to the book. In fact, I wasn't sold on the story at first (and I didn't realize it was a re-telling of Sambo), but I was so hooked by the illustrations that I had to keep reading. The trees have faces, and Anansi even makes a cameo. Lester's Southern black voice, combined with Pinkney's delightful illustrations, are extremely effective, and I'm eager to check out their re-imaginings of some of the Uncle Remus stories.