The French painter, Jean de Brunhoff, created the elephant, Babar, to illustrate a bed-time story told by his wife to their children. He decided to write down the story and paint the character, an elephant who had lost his mother. Babar wore a green suit, spats and a bowler hat. A family friend in the publishing business saw the paintings and Babar the Elephant was published, the first of 42 books about this elephant.
USA TODAY published a recent article about Laurent de Brunhoff, Jean’s son, who continued the series following his dad’s death in 1937.
In the NHTI Library’s Proquest database, Stephen O’Harrow discusses Babar’s character and theorizes that Babar’s story hides a colonialist view of the world. Babar learns to wear clothes, sleeps in a bed and hold conversations, acquires a red roadster and lives as a Parisian man about town.
Edward Rothstein reviewed an exhibit of Jean and Laurent’s de Brunhoff’s illustrations in 2008 at the Morgan Library and Museum, New York. He discusses the allegories within the Babar stories and writes about the paintings and the difference between Jean’s and Laurent’s artistic styles.
Laurent de Brunhoff says Babar’s adventures appeal to children, ages 3-6, and the books will remain popular, making these stories a classic tale to read aloud to your grandchildren. If you want to learn more about picture books, consult this Credo database article:
The library owns:
- De Brunhoff, Jean (2000). Bonjour Babar! New York: Random House JUV PZ7 .B828428 B66 2000.
- De Brunhoff, Laurent (2000). Babar and the Succotash Bird. New York: Abrams. JUV PZ7 .B82843 B3337 2000
- De Brunhoff, Laurent (2005) Babar the Magician. New York: Abrams. JUV PZ7 .B82843 B3376 2005.
