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. ( )

Odd little childrens book. A minor quibble, elephants live in a matriarchy, so not only is this not educational its actively uneducational :P .
I'm sure there must be some other versions of this book but the one i read had hand-written text!, and in cursive! Even i had issues deciphering a word here or there but i can only imagine the horror on a child's face if they were handed this :lol. And their growing horror if they actually managed to figure out what it says ;) .

There are several dark moments in this which are not well dealt with to say the least. Also Babar is elected King rather than inheriting it, which seems a nice change... until you find out why he in particular is elected. Part of me wants to think it's a biting satire on elections but i suspect not :lol.

The art's still nice though :) . ( )

J’ai besoin de practiquer français et ce livre est parfait! ( )

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. ( )

Charming, but to me, also disturbing. ( )

Sharing classics with my kids. ( )

An orphaned baby elephant goes to live in the city with an old lady who gives him everything he wants, but eventually returns to the forest ( )

There are so many better choices available now. ?�Why waste time on a book that teaches that an elephant who has been to the city and learned how to wear clothes and drink tea is the best choice for king of the elephant nation? ?áI find no redeeming value here. ?áI won't advocate we ban it, but why not let it go out of print, why not just forget it?

Apparently some folk disagree. ?áI'd like to know why it was in?áThe 20th Children's Book Treasury.?á ( )

Summary: Babar was an elephant born in jungle. His mother was shot by a hunter. Then he run away and arrived a town where he met a old lady. The old lady looked after him like her own child. He worn beautiful clothe and ate wonderful food in the old lady's house until his cousins came and found him. He decided to go back to the jungle. When he was back there, he became the elephant king and got married with his cousin.
Genre: Fantasy
The elephant dressed like a human and walked and talked.
Use: 1. the elephant changed his clothes frequently. We can tell students to draw their beautiful clothes for the elephant which develop their imagination and interest in art.
2. At the end of the story, the elephant couple began their honeymoon. But the author didn't describe many about it. Students can continue the elephant's story by writing their new story.
Media: ink and pen ( )

C'est un livre pour les enfant, pourtant l'histoire est très simple mais, c'est un bon livre pour qui est en train d'apprendre le français comme moi. ( )

This is a classic children's book that is about an elephant who got lost from his parents and then was adopted by an old woman. Babar was a very smart elephant and was sharply dressed. He ends up becoming king of the elephants and defeats the rhinos. This is a great read aloud book for grades K-2. ( )

This book starts off with a little elephant who after seeing his mother dies, flees to the city to escape capture. When in the city, Babar meets a nice old lady who cares for him and helps him adjust to the city lifestyle.

This book talks about an elephant who witnesses his mothers death then goes to the city and gets taken in by an old lady who houses him and takes him in as her own. He then becomes part of the modern world. His cousins search to find him and he goes back to the land with them. His cousins get married and become king and queen. This book has so many wrong and inappropriate aspects to it. I do not recommend reading this in the classroom. ( )

This fairy tale tells the story of a young elephant named Babar. After his mother dies, he tries to avoid capture by escaping to the city. In the city, he meets a rich old woman that gives him her money. Babar learns the new ways, he buys himself a suit and walks on two legs. He becomes educated and cultured and when he returns to the forest, is crowned King of the Elephants. The illustrations in this book are very cartoon-like, very simple. The text is very long on each page, and the story gets very long. A teacher might want to use this book in the library for children in middle school. It can be read as a play time book or a small group book. ( )

THE STORY OF BABAR, written in 1933, is a classic children’s book. It is about a small elephant named Babar who runs away to the city because he gets scared when his mother is killed by a hunter. When he goes to the city, a very rich Old Lady takes him in. She buys him new clothes and lets him live at her house. In fact, “she gives him whatever she wants.” (De Brunhoff, 21) Babar takes lessons from a professor and socializes with the Old Lady and her friends. Two years go by and Babar is missing the jungle just as he sees his cousins, Arthur and Celeste running towards him in the city! Babar buys them new clothes and food from the city, but eventually their mothers come looking for Arthur and Celeste to take them back to the jungle. Babar goes back with them, taking them in his car. On the day they arrive, the King of the elephants has eaten a bad mushroom and died, and since Babar is now educated because he went to the city, the elephants decide to make him the new king. Babar also announces that he and Celeste are going to be married! The book ends with the two cousins being wed and heading off to their honeymoon. This is a classic book that is well known to many readers, but there are underlying messages in the story that aren’t commonly seen by young children. The ideas of colonialism are presented when Babar leaves the jungle, buys clothes, starts walking upright, gets an education, and starts acting more civilized. This is essentially what had happened in history when slaves were taken from Africa. The book also poses another problem: incest. Babar and Celeste are cousins and they marry. Although THE STORY OF BABAR shows these issues, many young children wouldn’t understand or notice them. That being said, I still don’t think I would ever use this book in an elementary classroom, as it has no educational value or message, other than it is good to be rich, civilized, and educated. ( )

"Babar" is a story that has been banned from many schools. The story is about an elephant that goes to the city after his mother is hunted before his eyes. He meets a nice old lady who feeds him, buys him clothing, and provides him with a place to live. Years later his cousins comes to town and he leaves the old lady to go back to his herd. The lead elephant dies, and Babar is made the new king because of all the fancy items he brings back from the city. The story strongly pushes the views of colonization/humanization. It is only after Babar becomes king that the other elephants walk on two feet and wear clothing. It also is quite violent. For example, when is his mother is killed by hunters, the illustrations show exactly that. ( )

The Story of Babar is about a little elephant who sadly loses his mother at a young age and goes off into a big city. He is exposed to many new things in the city and soon adapts to a different lifestyle. This is a good book because it is showing a message that no matter what happens in life you will always be able to move on no matter how bad a situation is. You will always be able to adapt to a new lifestyle sooner or later. The illustrations are colorful with some black and white illustrations. Teachers can use this book to read as a fun book about elephants. ( )

The Story of Babar: the little elephant is a trade book about Babar the little elephant who loses his mother at a young age and wonders off into the city. He is exposed to many new things in the city and soon adapts to the French lifestyle. The illustrations in The Story of Babar: the little elephant is colorful with some black and white illustrations. The illustrations are drawn with pen and colored in. Teachers can use this book to read as a fun and exciting book about elephants. I enjoy this book because it was funny and I love elephants. ( )

THE STORY OF BABAR: THE LITTLE ELEPHANT is about a young elephant who lost his mother at a young age and was then taken into the cities. He meet new people in this strange place to him. Then he integrates himself into their society by meeting a friend, buying new clothes, and starts acting as if he is one of them. The pictures in this book are very colorful with detail and allows them to change from being wild to being like a human. Overall this book is interesting and I would not use this book to teach about in the classroom. ( )