The Story of Babar [Hardcover]

The original story is fairly simple. After a hunter kills his mother, Babar runs away until he comes to a city. As luck would have it, one of the first people he meets is a lady who loves to spend money on young elephants. Soon Babar has a dashing new wardrobe, a private tutor, and elegant friends. Life would be wonderful if he weren't so homesick. When his two cousins show up, Babar decides to go back home with them. The elders of the elephant herd decide that Babar, with his civilized ways, should become their king.

There's a school of thought that criticizes the Babar stories as colonialist. But then, most of children's literature written before the 1970s isn't exactly politically correct, is it? Do you tell your children that Babar is a tool of the imperialist establishment, or do you point out what a wonderful culture the elephants built when they banded together to build Celesteville, their capital city? Or do you just read the stories for pure enjoyment?

The story of Babar is simple. After his mother is shot by a cruel hunter, the little elephant runs away to a metropolitan city. Once there, he is taken under the wing of a kindly older lady. Babar then proceeds to become the greatest dandy of children's literature today. Here is the section I love the most:

"Babar then buys himself: A shirt with a collar and tie, a suit of a becoming shade of green, then a handsome derby hat, and also shoes with spats".

Contrary to popular thought, an elephant in spats is the most dignified thing in the world. With these purchases Babar has transformed himself from rural rube to the original metrosexual. He becomes cultured, learning the rudimentary aspects of human civilization while regaling party guests with his tales of the forest (note his pin-striped pants and casual dinner jacket). Eventually Babar is lured back to his jungle home and is swiftly crowned King of the elephants.

The 1933 setting in which Babar acclimatizes himself has grown more charming over the years. And most remarkably? Most older picture books contain at least one racial stereotype somewhere in the midst of a picture. Not so our darling "Babar". I feel safe in saying that you might search through any future adventure of the winsome elephant and not stumble across a single picture or piece of writing that causes you a twenty-first century gasp of disgust. This isn't to say that there aren't some rather peculiar dated aspects to the book. I read this book as a child and had a vivid visceral memory return to me when I saw the sickly state of the former King of the elephants who passed away after eating a bad mushroom. That is a grotesquerie unknown to the kiddies today. But all in all, "Babar" is without fault. Certainly he's the essence of capitalism. One might believe the elephants crown him king as much for his pretty red convertible as for his brains. But Babar is still a unique and moving tale that will continue to entertain the masses of children for years and years to come.