Babar the Elephant

Babar the Elephant is a popular French children's fictional character who first appeared in L'Histoire de Babar by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931, and enjoyed immediate success. English language versions, entitled The Story of Babar, appeared in 1933 in Britain and the United States. The story tells of a young elephant called Babar who leaves the jungle, visits a big city, and returns to bring the benefits of civilization to his fellow elephants.

Jean de Brunhoff published six more stories before his early death in 1937 at the age of 37. His son Laurent de Brunhoff was also a talented writer and illustrator and he carried on the series from 1946 with Babar et Le Coquin d'Arthur and many more.

Story of Babar
After Babar witnesses the slaughter of his beloved mother, he flees from the jungle and finds his way to Paris where he is befriended by the Old Lady. Babar eventually returns to the Elephant realm following the death of the previous King, who had eaten some poisonous mushrooms. Babar is crowned king, marries his 3rd cousin twice removed Celeste, and founds the city of Celesteville. Babar, who tends to wear a bright green suit, introduces a very French form of western civilization to the elephants, and causes them to dress in western attire.

Criticism
The books are written in what many would call a charming and appealing style with an large amount of attention to detail. Underneath, they could be seen as a justification for colonialism, with the benefits of French civilization being visited on the rustic African elephant kingdom. Some writers, including Herbert R. Kohl and Vivian Paley have argued that the books, although superficially delightful, are politically and morally offensive. Others argue that the French civilization described in the early books had already been destroyed by the Great War and the books were originally an exercise in nostalgia for pre 1914 France.

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