Of course I've read the Babar books with my kids when they were little. But I never quite enjoyed them. Maybe they were just too tame. ( )

I want to love Babar, but this was a fairly traumatic read for my 3 year old. She could not get over the death of Babar's mom, and bored quickly of the main story. Not to mention he marries his cousin??? ( )

This story is about Babar, the elephant, and his adventure to the city and how he adapts when he he meets a welcoming older woman. As the story progresses, Babar goes back to his family in the jungle because he misses them. Additionally, Babar shares his new knowledge about the city with his family and he becomes their king.

https://nextshark.com/colonialism-kids-racist-origins-babar-elephant

This article changed my mind completely about what this book is about. While I can understand that boundary's of permissibility keep changing. I feel that in this day and age such books should not be encouraged or kept in library spaces (without any engagement about the context it was set in).

Good book to introduce Racism and Colonialism to children. ( )

When a hunter kills his mother, the little elephant Babar is so frightened that he runs away and ends up in a big city. He buys himself some nice clothes and accepts a nice Old Lady’s invitation to live at her house. Time passes, and then Babar has an unexpected meeting with his elephant cousins, who have run away. When their mothers come to fetch them, Babar decides to return to the forest with them, where he will become the king of the elephants.

The story and the lovely illustrations have enchanted generations of children. It doesn’t appeal so much to this adult. There doesn’t seem to be much substance to the story, although I might feel differently about it if I had fond childhood memories of reading it. Also, I don’t like stories where animals die. ( )