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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
I'm not planning to add children's books to my page, but this one really took my breath away as I read it to my one year old one night.
First of all, Babar's mother is shot on like page two. There she is lying dead with the gloating hunter holding his rifle. Yikes! Little orphan Babar meekly watches on, barely a tear in his elephant eye.
However, this isn't enough to warrant a review. It's what comes next. Babar's story then unfolds as some bizarre French colonial wish fulfillment. Babar, following his mother's murder at the hands of white hunters, blithely follows their path back to the white city. There, he falls into the trusteeship of a sweet grandmotherly lady who helps him get settled into the city. Without his own mother, Babar is a child of the colonial city, happily learning to dress the dandy and eat french pastries.
With the benefits of his education in a civilized country- thank god he's finally wearing clothes over the wrinkled, sagging, gray elephant skin- Babar returns to the land of his people where, due to his fine duds and worldly ways, is immediately declared king of the naked Afri- I mean- elephants.
Babar returns home, more French than the French, and ready to lead his people on the path to civilization. Thank God, those hunters killed his mother!
First of all, Babar's mother is shot on like page two. There she is lying dead with the gloating hunter holding his rifle. Yikes! Little orphan Babar meekly watches on, barely a tear in his elephant eye.
However, this isn't enough to warrant a review. It's what comes next. Babar's story then unfolds as some bizarre French colonial wish fulfillment. Babar, following his mother's murder at the hands of white hunters, blithely follows their path back to the white city. There, he falls into the trusteeship of a sweet grandmotherly lady who helps him get settled into the city. Without his own mother, Babar is a child of the colonial city, happily learning to dress the dandy and eat french pastries.
With the benefits of his education in a civilized country- thank god he's finally wearing clothes over the wrinkled, sagging, gray elephant skin- Babar returns to the land of his people where, due to his fine duds and worldly ways, is immediately declared king of the naked Afri- I mean- elephants.
Babar returns home, more French than the French, and ready to lead his people on the path to civilization. Thank God, those hunters killed his mother!
I read the book in a fit of nostalgia. As a child I loved the story and the illustrations tenderly. Suddenly I discovered that Barbar is propaganda for French colonialism. A sudden discovery, but for 1931 it's perhaps not surprising.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this book as a child, and perhaps that is why I still find it charming as an adult, despite the underlying political messages of which I am now aware.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
colonialism for kids
I read Babar books as a child, and checked copies out from the library more than once. I remember being excited about the simple cartoon series, even though I felt a bit too old to be watching it, whenever that was.
The stories are...nice, but I think they’ve seen their time come and go. Maybe it’s the absurdity that’s written too deadpan. Maybe it’s the elephant poaching. Maybe it’s the blatant incest. Maybe it’s the capitalism. Maybe it’s the French-speaking colonization of African cultures. Maybe it’s the white savior syndrome.
It’s a shame. Babar really knows how to strut his fine green suit and derby. Surely there are better choices and we can let this one fade into the background.
The stories are...nice, but I think they’ve seen their time come and go. Maybe it’s the absurdity that’s written too deadpan. Maybe it’s the elephant poaching. Maybe it’s the blatant incest. Maybe it’s the capitalism. Maybe it’s the French-speaking colonization of African cultures. Maybe it’s the white savior syndrome.
It’s a shame. Babar really knows how to strut his fine green suit and derby. Surely there are better choices and we can let this one fade into the background.
I absolutely loved Babar when I was little, especially the cartoons! Great stories, great characters!
I read this as part of my gentle introduction to French language literature, and I was expecting something simple and childish, like [b:Madeleine|475336|Madeleine|Ludwig Bemelmans|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347576958l/475336._SX50_.jpg|2666907]. I was totally not expecting how hilariously ridiculous the story is.
It starts off nice and peaceful with Babar the elephant in the forest, then BAM out of nowhere his mother is killed by a hunter. A bit rough for a children's book, but whatever. Babar flees to a town where the stage is set for a story about a loose elephant and the town trying to capture him or send him back to the forest while he wreaks havoc. But no, instead the villagers bizarrely seem blind to his elephant-ness, leaving him free to make friends with an old lady and then go clothes shopping (the shop just happens to sell elephant clothes) and spend the afternoon going up and down the elevator. Grief is fleeting in this surreal world.
Fast forward through Babar anthropomorphizing while living with the old lady and driving a car she bought for him. Then we get to perhaps the craziest, most action packed day in any creature's life ever. While out for a walk with the old lady his cousins Arthur and Céleste come running up to him, naked! *Clears throat*... they are elephants... Anyway Babar promptly buys them clothes and then their mother finds them and drags them back to the forest (in Babar's car) where the elephant king has died so Babar is made king and he decides to marry his cousin Céleste and they have a big coronation and wedding party and fly away in a hot air balloon. Whew! What a day! That takes compressed Shakespearean timelines to the next level.
It's hard to critique a book that is so wacky, even if all the matriarchal characters (Babar's mother, the old lady and Céleste's mother) vanish inexplicably into the background. I think it does a good job tapping into the wildness of a child's imagination where there are no necessary boundaries and everything is possible. And the French was fairly accessible throughout. I enjoyed it, and I look forward to reading it with my son when he's older.
EDIT: I can't believe I completely missed the rather overt colonial overtones when I first read this, believing it to be an innocent childlike fantasy. It's the kind of thing that once you see it you can't unsee it, and it does make it harder to enjoy the book.
It starts off nice and peaceful with Babar the elephant in the forest, then BAM out of nowhere his mother is killed by a hunter. A bit rough for a children's book, but whatever. Babar flees to a town where the stage is set for a story about a loose elephant and the town trying to capture him or send him back to the forest while he wreaks havoc. But no, instead the villagers bizarrely seem blind to his elephant-ness, leaving him free to make friends with an old lady and then go clothes shopping (the shop just happens to sell elephant clothes) and spend the afternoon going up and down the elevator. Grief is fleeting in this surreal world.
Fast forward through Babar anthropomorphizing while living with the old lady and driving a car she bought for him. Then we get to perhaps the craziest, most action packed day in any creature's life ever. While out for a walk with the old lady his cousins Arthur and Céleste come running up to him, naked! *Clears throat*... they are elephants... Anyway Babar promptly buys them clothes and then their mother finds them and drags them back to the forest (in Babar's car) where the elephant king has died so Babar is made king and he decides to marry his cousin Céleste and they have a big coronation and wedding party and fly away in a hot air balloon. Whew! What a day! That takes compressed Shakespearean timelines to the next level.
It's hard to critique a book that is so wacky, even if all the matriarchal characters (Babar's mother, the old lady and Céleste's mother) vanish inexplicably into the background. I think it does a good job tapping into the wildness of a child's imagination where there are no necessary boundaries and everything is possible. And the French was fairly accessible throughout. I enjoyed it, and I look forward to reading it with my son when he's older.
EDIT: I can't believe I completely missed the rather overt colonial overtones when I first read this, believing it to be an innocent childlike fantasy. It's the kind of thing that once you see it you can't unsee it, and it does make it harder to enjoy the book.
What did I just read? Did this elephant just marry his way younger cousin? And became king just because he had nice clothes and lived in the city? Listen I bought this because I remember sweet cartoon and books that were about adventures of Babar. I saw this online and bought it because I felt nostalgic and I love children’s books. This made me feel all sorts of feelings, but nostalgia and sweet childhood memory wasn’t one of them.
I loved this book when I was younger and recently found and reread it at my parents house.
I was not negatively affected by the death of Babar's mother, I was probably more affected by the death of Bambi's mother in the classic Disney film.
Lovely illustrations and a challenge to read as a child as the font was handwritten (or so it appears).
I was not negatively affected by the death of Babar's mother, I was probably more affected by the death of Bambi's mother in the classic Disney film.
Lovely illustrations and a challenge to read as a child as the font was handwritten (or so it appears).
adventurous
funny
fast-paced