Blanche Seale Hunt

Blanche Seale Hunt (1912–1973) was the creator of the Little Brown Koko series of children stories, which initially appeared monthly in The Household Magazine for more than a decade. In full-length book form, Little Brown Koko titles sold more than 600,000 copies.

Hunt's stories drew criticism from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for their stereotypical and derogatory portrayals of Black Americans.

The Hunt home, called Koko Knoll, included a dedicated "Little Brown Koko" room with a 30" × 36" water color picture of the character by illustrator Sybil Short Fudge.

Postmaster Hunt was appointed postmaster for the Fallis Post Office, Lincoln County, Oklahoma in 1948 and served twenty one years until retirement in 1969. She also served a term as president of the Oklahoma League of Postmasters. The story was accepted for publication and Hunt received $20. A new Little Brown Koko story appeared in each monthly issue for over a dozen years with payments to Hunt eventually increasing to $75 per story.

The stories became popular nationwide. Responding to letters from children, parents and teachers, The Household Magazine through Capper Publications, selected several Little Brown Koko stories to place in book format in 1940. Household editors also published Little Brown Koko coloring books, a mechanical bank, patterns for children's clothes, rugs, tea towels potholders, quilts, doorstops and yard fixtures. The first two books sold 500,000 copies.

In the early 1950s, a new editor at The Household Magazine repositioned the magazine from family-focused to appeal to adult women and the Little Brown Koko feature was discontinued. In 1959, Little Brown Koko at Work and Play and Little Brown Koko's Pets and Playmates were published by C.E.I Publishing.

In 1964, Hunt published two volumes of Little Brown Koko Bible Stories from the Old Testaments with illustrations by Bradley Whitfield. The illustrations again featured black characters with exaggerated-sized lips and eyes. The biblical figures appear to be White and did not have distorted features.

Context of children's literature During the 1940s and 1950s, when Little Brown Koko was most popular, children's books with authentic and positive images and stories about African American children and families were rare. Modern scholarship in children's literature, specifically African American children's literature, recognizes that Little Brown Koko stories were not alone in depicting African Americans in stereotypes, with a focus on entertaining white audiences and were often cherished artifacts within families.

Protests in Waterloo, Iowa The use of Hunt's story "Little Brown Koko and the Preacher's Watermelon" in a Waterloo, Iowa, junior high school class sparked protests in 1972. Alice Margaret Hayes, a teacher at West Junior High School since 1945, read aloud the story to her speech and drama class, as she had for over a decade. The school's student body of 1,200 included 45 African American students. One of Hayes' students complained to school officials that the story was inappropriate. On May 24, twenty-five African American parents, students and community members staged a sit-in in Hayes' classroom saying that reading the story in class was "demeaning" and "racist in nature" and demanded she be dismissed. The principal agreed the Little Brown Koko story was inappropriate and suspended the teacher. The next day, white students protested the suspension and refused to attend classes. Later in the day, African American parents and students occupied the school administration building and barred the superintendent in his office until law enforcement freed him. Thirty-two protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing. On May 26, the school board rescinded the suspension, but Hayes declined to return to teach for the remainder of the school year.

Popular culture influences Little Brown Koko books sold more than 600,000 copies The first book McNair created was a scrapbook of Little Brown Koko short stories.

Award-winning poet Shane McCrae's 2014 Forgiveness Forgiveness explores identity, race, family and abuse through interactions with Little Brown Koko. The book's main character, a black man, finds a copy of the children's book in his grandparents' home and deals with questions of identity and race represented by Little Brown Koko.