Classics Corner: Babar

The elephant in the room

I haven’t heard of or seen Babar since I was a kid in elementary school (so it’s been a while). My memories of the story are foggy and I just remember loving Babar because my favorite animal happened to be an elephant and what’s more exciting than seeing the adventures of an elephant king? And it was wonderful to live in Babar’s world.

Babar is the reason I got the idea for the Classics Corner series. A friend asked me if I’d read the Babar stories at all. When I said I hadn’t read it in a long time, she said, “Oh man, I was shocked reading Babar.” We didn’t get into details but my curiosity was piqued. Revisiting Babar was a bit like the first crucial scene in the story: watching my fond memories of the story get shot.

Without further ado, let’s get reading…

The Story of Babar

Written and Illustrated by Jean de Brunhoff

Recommended Ages: 5-9 years old

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The Babar stories are surprisingly long! The first one clocks in at 58 pages. While there is a lot of white space (with a very pleasing effect) making the book longer there’s also much that happens in our introduction to Babar. The first page starts at the very beginning… we get a peek into baby Babar’s life. We see the close connection and bond between Babar and his mother. We see Babar’s childhood and how he fits into his elephant community. And the tragic result when man and nature cross paths: a hunter takes aim and shoots at Babar and his mother; his mother passes away. Babar runs away to escape the hunter and doesn’t stop until he comes across a city.

In the city, he is taken in by a wealthy Old Lady who clothes him and educates him. In the evenings, he regales the Old Lady’s friends with stories of the jungle. But after two years, Babar misses his old life and his mother. When his elephant friends from childhood come to visit, Babar takes them around town. When his elephant aunties come to collect his friends, Babar decides to leave with them and bids the Old Lady a heartfelt adieu.

As Babar and his friends return to the jungle, the King of the Elephants suffers a calamity and dies. The elder elephants convene to discuss what they should do next and just as they are in their discussions, Babar and his friends arrive. The elephant Elders agree that Babar possesses knowledge they do not have (from having lived among men) and thus invite him to become king. Babar agrees but only if they accept his fiancee, Celeste—one of the friends who sought him out in the city—as queen. Babar and Celeste hold a wedding-coronation ceremony to cement their new status as king and queen, husband and wife.

A Short History Lesson

Babar was first written and published in France in 1931 by Jean du Brunhoff, an artist. What’s notable about this period is that it was several years after WWI and it was the very height of French colonial power.

Map of the British and French colonial empires, published in the American magazine Fortune (May 1931). All the blue areas are the French colonized areas. Source

As you can see from this map of European colonies, France (all the blue areas) had colonized much of northwest Africa. During the Global Depression, France’s colonial interests blunted the worst of a brutal economic downturn. It was considered a mutually beneficial exchange (my guess is that only one of the two parties felt this way) because while France’s coffers profited, so did the colonies by way of Westernization: an introduction to medicine, education, and transit.

This was also the same period when those living under colonial rule began to protest, organize, and rebel against colonial rule. These seeds of discontent would create the unrest that would eventually lead to the independence of these colonized countries.

Why is this important? It helps frame up the world that our author lived in and the influence on his beliefs and how they manifest in the Babar books.

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Real Talk

Colonial righteousness

I won’t mince words: I found it very difficult to read this book. The colonialism themes are so pervasive in this story that I felt a bit sick afterward. An external force—the hunter—comes to Babar’s home and devastates it by seeing what he wants and taking it. Within the first few pages you not only see the tragedy of death but the cruelty and reality of colonialism.

As Babar explores the city, themes of condescension appear: he needs to change himself (in this case by buying new clothes) to fit into the “fine” world around him. His being taken in by the Old Lady is certainly kind but you soon see that he’s treated as a trophy—a pet to be indulged in return for performances. Babar becomes “civilized.”

When he returns to his native home, he’s immediately anointed king simply because he is “civilized” and, supposedly, “learned.” This is historically accurate: many of the colonies were managed by an elite class of colonized people who looked like the colonized but were groomed by the colonizers.

What sickened me about this story is not the story itself—anyone who hails from a colonized land will innately recognize the theme. It’s that it’s treated so matter-of-factly, that it’s considered so right. The level of casual superiority and righteousness. This is what made my stomach churn.

Death

In Babar’s story, death is a catalyst for change: his mother’s death propels him to leave his home behind and the elephant king’s death heralds a new role for Babar—as the new king. Death comes early in this book; within a few pages, just as we’ve learned how much Babar’s mother cherishes him, she is killed. I’ve heard some folks shy away from reading the story because of the death in these stories. Generally speaking, I try not to shy away from these topics. The great thing about books is that they’re a gentle introduction to some tough situations. The way I’ve approached these situations in the past is to read the book (if I feel a kid is ready) and then let kids take the lead and see how they process the information and take it from there. Some kids may focus on the element of animal hunting while others will focus on the death of a loved one. I like this approach because it’s a lot easier to handle these heavy topics when the emotional stakes are relatively low.

Would I Read Babar To Kids?

Yes, I would read Babar to kids with the caveat that I’d only read it at an age where I could discuss the subject matter in depth (both death and colonialistic themes). I don’t think (actually I totally would if it were age-appropriate) I’d initiate a lecture on colonialism and the ramifications it has had on, largely, the global south. But I would certainly use this as an opportunity to start poking holes and dismantling the perpetuities of colonialism (for example, underrepresented groups feeling like they have to earn their way into a predominantly white world).

What I Liked

Despite overall disliking Babar for the reasons mentioned above, there are a few things I did enjoy. One is de Brunhoff’s writing style. It’s plain, crisp writing that almost feels as if it’s being narrated (by David Attenborough because of course). There’s an element of playfulness that is charming. What endears me most about this style is that it allows us to read between the lines and color in the scenes with our own emotional interpretations.

Without a doubt, de Brunhoff’s artistic talents are an immense part of Babar’s success. The lively, quaint sketches, sometimes sparse and sometimes brought to life in vivid color, are little odes to the adventures and scrapes Babar gets into.

On that note, I think Babar's stories have become a classic because of the pace and excitement with which Babar’s adventures begin and end. So much happens in each story, you’re in for a ride every time. Babar takes kids far away into the whimsy of storyland.

Talking points

• Why do you think Babar likes the city?

• Do you think Babar should have gone home? Why?

• Why did the elephant elders choose Babar to be king? Do you think Babar would be a good king? Why or why not?

Fun facts

• Jean de Brunhoff died of tuberculosis at age 37 but his son, Laurent de Brunhoff, would take up the mantle and continue the Babar stories

• Babar began as a bedtime story that Cécile de Brunhoff told her two sons and the sons loved the story so much they asked their father, an artist, to create illustrations for the story

Let’s Talk…

• Are you a Babar fan?

• If you’ve read Babar as an adult, what did you think about it?

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