The Story of Babar (1931)

I was never a particular fan of Babar. I have a feeling I'd appreciate it more as an adult.

Printed in blue, incl. illustrations and text. ( )

A book I quite liked as a kid, but it's becoming very dated, and it does not handle death or the matriarchy of elephants well at all. The older this book gets, the more it becomes one of those tucked away hidden from sight books that might just need to become a memory, certainly not for reading to kids at bed time, you'll be explaining some fairly mature topics with them until they get tired, if you try. ( )

Grim and deadpan, good illustrations. ( )

"The Story of Babar" follows a young elephant exploring a big city. When Babar was little, his mother was killed by a hunter and he ran to a nearby city, where he was taken in by an old woman. He became fascinated by human culture, buying clothes and food. Eventually, he returns to his home in the forest, where he is crowned king of the elephants. He gets married, and he and his wife decide to go on many adventures. I thought the book was very cute, especially with the addition of the soft illustrations. There isn't much to say about the story, as it is very short and simple, but I did enjoy it. ( )