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Story of Babar: The Little Elephant
Story of Babar: The Little Elephant | Jean de Brunhoff
29 posts | 48 read | 3 to read
Translated from Jean de Brunhoff's original French, the adventures of theworld's most popular elephant and his friends have enchanted an threegenerations. Delightfully amusing illustrations make this short collection ofclassic Babar tales a book to treasure for children young and old. "With manyabsurd and funny pictures, these tales of the popular elephant furnish hours ofenjoyment to the young person."-- "Elementary English"
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review
DivineDiana
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Pickpick

Yes, the part involving a gun was disturbing, but for the most part the colorful, delightful illustrations told a story of friendship, understanding, and love. I enjoyed this foray into Babar‘s world. In fact, I have a second volume to share! Thank you once again @TheBookHippie for this challenge! #childrensclassicread2023 #192025 #1933

Librarybelle Hooray!! 1mo
47 likes1 comment
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DivineDiana
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Last chance! Stopped by the Library today and decided to pick up this book since it is the February selection for #childrensclassicread2023

TheBookHippie 🧑🐘🧑 1mo
44 likes1 comment
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julieclair
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Pickpick

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. Thank you to @TheBookHippie for choosing this as a selection for #ChildrensClassicRead2023, and especially for the excellent research about modern interpretations of the book. Fascinating.
#SayMyName @Clwojick

Clwojick Fun! I loved this show as a kid 🐘 1mo
31 likes1 comment
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PurpleyPumpkin
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Pickpick

I had some time this morning to sit down and read this month‘s #ChildrensClassicRead2023 pick. This simple tale with the fun artwork brought back so many fond memories. Thanks @TheBookHippie for providing all the added reading and opening my eyes to other interpretations of this book. 3/5⭐️
(February 20, 2023)

TheBookHippie β™₯️ 1mo
44 likes1 comment
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AnneCecilie
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After reading about ways to interpret this book, I‘m not sure how I feel about. I see the issues, but apparently this is a book for kids older than 3 yrs and I‘m not sure they would. About an elephant that escapes the hunter that killed his mum, and ends up in the city for a while before he returns home to be king.
#ChildrensClassicRead2023
@TheBookHippie

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tpixie
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I love the illustrations. Baby Babar is adorable. β€œThat‘s him, digging the sand with a shell.”. The story is a little harsh for kids- like Bambi, the mother is shot! Apparently no child in literature can go on an adventure without a dead mom!
#ChildrensClassicRead2023

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TheBookHippie
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#childrensclassicread2023 February
I am loving all the post on these books and all the shared links. Be sure to follow the # to see everyone‘s discussion points. I‘m going to keep reading Babar the elephant and articles till the end of the month.

tpixie Adorable photo! 2mo
PurpleyPumpkin I read some of the articles you posted on the weekend. So eye opening! Thanks for the extra reading. It‘s adding a lot to my reading this month. πŸ˜‰ 2mo
See All 18 Comments
TheBookHippie @tpixie when Babar got banned at some of the schools, the little animals were band as well so I rescued them.. πŸ™ƒ 2mo
TheBookHippie @PurpleyPumpkin It‘s truly fascinating! 2mo
IndoorDame @TheBookHippie @tpixie they‘re truly adorable! So glad you rescued them πŸ₯° 2mo
KristiAhlers That article was so interesting! I had no idea about any of those things. 2mo
TheBookHippie @KristiAhlers we‘ve read so many articles about this book, it‘s fascinating. 2mo
mrp27 Neat facts in that article! 2mo
batsy Interesting that both father and son were painters or trained in it; the artwork was the highlight. 2mo
tpixie @TheBookHippie great save! They are adorable. I can‘t wait to read your articles. I hope to catch up this or next weekend! 2mo
tpixie @batsy @TheBookHippie Interesting about both being painters!! I do love the illustrations! I think that is why I enjoyed Babar as a child. It‘s the illustrations that warm my heart, not necessarily the story. 2mo
TheBookHippie @tpixie I do love the art! 2mo
UwannaPublishme I haven‘t opened Babar or read your articles yet, because I started Evelyn Hugo and can‘t put it down! Sooo good! I‘m on the 6th husband, so it won‘t be long now. 😁 2mo
TheBookHippie @UwannaPublishme I love that book. But I loathe every other book she wrote 🀣😝 2mo
UwannaPublishme πŸ«’πŸ€” Not even Daisy Jones? 2mo
TheBookHippie @UwannaPublishme No that was awful 😝 2mo
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review
batsy
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Panpan

Never read Babar as a kid, never paid much attention to it, but as an adult I can only see the weird bourgeois assimilation angle. The narrative has him watch his mother die, escape from the wild into the city to become a "civilised" gentrified elephant, then head back into the wild in splendour to marry his cousin & rule over the rest. To be fair, the art is lovely. But otherwise, kind of an iffy story. #ChildrensClassicRead2023 @TheBookHippie

batsy Yet another eye-opening children's read and an intriguing comparison to Bambi. This essay by Faiza Guene on Babar is a lovely piece https://lithub.com/on-babar-model-of-integration-or-crumbling-myth-2/ (I enjoyed Guene's Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow.) 2mo
AlaMich I have never read it either, but it sounds weird from your description. 2mo
batsy @AlaMich As a kid I would have probably just loved the adorable elephant! But now there's an underlying message that is not great. And looking it up I see that it's something that's been discussed for some time. 2mo
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Bookish_Gal I loved the book as a kid. Show too. Since my class on analyzing children books, my whole view has switched upside down. While I‘d never say I saw that as a kid, it‘s so clear as an adult. 2mo
GingerAntics I‘m seeing a lot of the problems now, too. It‘s kind of sad. 2mo
TheBookHippie Ooo thanks for the link. I‘m always amazed at what we learn in this journey of reading children‘s classics. 2mo
batsy @Bookish_Gal Yes! It's definitely hard to see it as a kid, I think. Because it's stuff that comes with experience and knowing how the world works. But a great book for parents and kids to discuss together. 2mo
batsy @GingerAntics It's sad when beloved childhood faves take on a different tone in adulthood. I hope you read Guene's essay that I linked in the replies. I love that she mentions that she'll still treasure what she loved about it as a child. 2mo
batsy @TheBookHippie Yes! And I found it really illuminating that this came after Bambi. Two very different books using animal story analogies with an underlying theme on survival. 2mo
batsy @TheBookHippie *of survival 2mo
TheBookHippie @batsy I agree one hundred percent!!! 2mo
merelybookish "kind of an iffy story" ? #understatement 2mo
Ann_Reads A good review @Batsy. I didn't care for tale either. Even the anthropomorphized illustrations bothered me. What baby elephant who had recently watched his mother be killed would immediately head to the city and seek out a tailor's shop to buy a suit? Beyond the gentrification issue, in a way, the story just seemed silly. 2mo
GingerAntics @batsy I can‘t even remember what I loved about it as a child. That‘s the weird part. 2mo
batsy @merelybookish πŸ˜† 2mo
batsy @Ann_Reads Great point! It was overly twee and Babar is a blank slate of a character. 2mo
Suet624 My mother never read Babar to me - she was a Just So Stories fan. But I read the book to two of my kids and a stepson. My only answer to why I never questioned what I was reading is that I had too many kids, too many jobs, too much drink by the time bedtime came along (that was a long time ago now) and my brain was fried. 😊 2mo
batsy @Suet624 Oh for sure, Sue. We do the best we can πŸ™‚ There was a lot of racism in the Enid Blyton books I loved as a kid and that my nephews used to ask me to read to themβ€”they grew out of it faster than I did and identified the troubling bits when they were older. So maybe the kids are alright πŸ’• 2mo
tpixie @Suet624 β€οΈπŸ˜‚β€οΈ 2mo
85 likes1 stack add19 comments
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TheBookHippie
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IndoorDame I had no idea reader view worked for that 🀯❀️ 2mo
TheBookHippie @IndoorDame I do it a zillion times a day πŸ™ƒ 2mo
GingerAntics I loved Babar growing up!!! 2mo
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TheBookHippie
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GingerAntics Well that really killed some childhood memories. It‘s amazing where these things all sneak in. 2mo
mrp27 Interesting. Didn‘t realize and glad to know some of the offensive illustrations were removed. 2mo
TheBookHippie @GingerAntics 😭😭😭 2mo
TheBookHippie @mrp27 I‘m so fascinated. I agree -glad to know some effort was used. 2mo
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TheBookHippie
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IndoorDame It‘s possible that one of the reasons these characters stick in my memory so vividly from childhood is that I remember hearing adults around me discussing this β€œcontroversy”, but not in a way I could understand at my young age (either because no one thought to talk to me about it just near me, or possibly because the explanations were undertaken by adults with only the most surface understanding of the debate themselves) 2mo
TheBookHippie @IndoorDame I‘m truly fascinated by all of it. It was banned in some schools as well… I still think it should be read, talked about and enjoyed… πŸ™ƒπŸ‘€. 2mo
batsy I just finished! Didn't like it; definitely can't unread the colonialist/civilising analogy as an adult. Will have probably loved it if I read it as a kid, I'm sure. 2mo
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TheBookHippie @batsy I know right? You can‘t un-see it. I‘m sure too as a child I‘d have loved it. Going to read more to see where it goes .. 2mo
UwannaPublishme This one didn‘t do much for me either. But it‘s pretty mind boggling when you dig a little deeper and uncover these analogies. 😳 1mo
TheBookHippie @UwannaPublishme SAME but who knew?!?!?! I do like the art πŸ‘€ I‘m just fascinated. 1mo
julieclair I loved this book as a child, and still find it charming… particularly the illustrations. I had no idea about the underlying political message. Fascinating. 1mo
46 likes7 comments
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TheBookHippie
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TheBookHippie
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erzascarletbookgasm
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Panpan

Another children‘s book I‘ve never read when I was young. As an adult reading it for the first time, I find this not funny. I don‘t know what the author is trying to tell..Babar, whose mother recently got killed by a hunter, escapes to town, met a kind, old, rich lady who gave him lots of money to spend, and Babar suddenly feels the need to get fancy clothes and assimilated to society. And when he returns to the forest, he..⬇️

erzascarletbookgasm …is made King for his β€˜new‘ ways. πŸ€” Sorry, I do not feel amused. I‘m glad I did not read this to my children when they were young.
#ChildrensClassicRead2023
2mo
batsy What an interesting review! I wonder how I'll feel about it. Somehow I never read it as a kid or an adult, though I've heard it referenced so many times. 2mo
Suet624 You‘re so right. 2mo
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TheBookHippie Isn‘t it fascinating what we find and what memory can do if we‘ve read it before? I‘ve not read it before but was told it was satire for colonialism so I‘m anxious to start this today. 2mo
KathyWheeler I read it as a kid and loved it but I never read it to or bought it for my own kids. I‘m not sure what I‘d think about it now. 2mo
batsy I just read it and I completely agree! 2mo
erzascarletbookgasm @batsy It‘s a weird read, isn‘t it. 2mo
55 likes7 comments
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IndoorDame
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Pickpick

It was such a sweet diversion to revisit Babar this morning! The story I remember having read to me most often was one of the later ones in the series, so I enjoyed seeing where it all began. I‘m tempted to continue on with the next few books to get to some of the scenes I remember most fondly. #ChildrensClassicRead2023 @TheBookHippie

Suet624 Go for it! 2mo
IndoorDame @Suet624 just requested the next two from the library 😁 2mo
Suet624 πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ’• 2mo
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Leftcoastzen Kitty love !😻 2mo
IndoorDame @Leftcoastzen she and her brother are being lovely company for this bitterly cold day πŸˆπŸˆβ€β¬› 2mo
TheBookHippie Yay β™₯️🐘! I took a few out of the library I may get as many as possible this month πŸ™ƒπŸ‘€. 2mo
tpixie πŸ–€ πŸˆβ€β¬› πŸ–€ 2mo
61 likes7 comments
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TheBookHippie
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https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/09/22/freeing-the-elephants

#ChildrensClassicRead2023 February Babar another read that has a lot of controversy and thoughts about!

I do feel like a student reading these but I do love it so! 🐘 🐘 🐘

I look forward to staring this later this week! Also this is a #192025 challenge read for 1931 @Librarybelle

Librarybelle Hooray! 2mo
Ann_Reads πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ I have the book loaded up on my kindle and will be reading it soon. 2mo
54 likes2 comments
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TheBookHippie
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The story of literatureβ€˜s most beloved elephant. After his mother is killed by a hunter, Babar avoids capture by escaping to the city, where he is befriended by the kindly Old Lady. Later, with cousins Celeste and Arthur, he returns to the great forest to be crowned King of the Elephants. With the original illustrations from Jean de Brunhoffβ€˜s 1931 classic, this first Babar story has enchanted generations.
February
#childrensclassicread2023

julieclair Yay! I loved this story as a child. πŸ˜πŸ’™ 3mo
PurpleyPumpkin So looking forward to this one! I still have my childhood book but haven‘t read it in decades! It‘ll be lovely to revisit. πŸ‘πŸ½ 3mo
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Soscha I‘m going to try this one in the original French. 3mo
TheBookHippie @Soscha Oh how wonderful!!! 3mo
CBee Why do the poor baby elephants have to lose their mothers though? I still can‘t watch Dumbo 😭😭😭 and had no idea that was Babar‘s backstory either πŸ™ 3mo
TheBookHippie @CBee True life. 3mo
KristiAhlers I am looking forward to revisiting this one! This is so fun reading books from my childhood 3mo
TheBookHippie @KristiAhlers I love it so much! 3mo
tpixie Ooo I loved Babar! 🐘 🐘 3mo
tpixie @CBee I didn‘t realize that‘s Babar‘s backstory also. It seems however, for any child to go on an adventure, Their mother must be dead….. maybe that is why I never got to Narnia…. @TheBookHippie (edited) 3mo
TheBookHippie @tpixie OY Narnia my parochial school bastardized it horrifically … so that‘s a no go for me PTSD πŸ˜΅β€πŸ’«πŸ˜¬. 3mo
CBee @TheBookHippie oh no!! And the Narnia books are wonderful too. I‘m sorry you experienced it that way πŸ™πŸ™ 3mo
CBee @tpixie they do often start with something tragic, don‘t they? πŸ™ 3mo
tpixie @TheBookHippie oh so sad. Not fair that series was ruined for you! (edited) 3mo
tpixie @CBee yes! But they shouldn‘t pick the mom! Lol πŸ˜‚ 3mo
CBee @tpixie I agree 100%!! 3mo
TheBookHippie @tpixie I know. I also realize it‘s wonderful for people. I just cannot. 3mo
TheBookHippie @CBee @tpixie why isn‘t it the mother-in-law ? πŸ€£πŸ€£πŸ€£πŸ€£πŸ‘€πŸ’€ I agree though why isn‘t it someone else?! 3mo
CBee @TheBookHippie HA! πŸ‘ 3mo
batsy I somehow didn't read this as a child! 😯 Babar is such a part of pop cultural memory like Dumbo, though, so I'm looking forward to finally reading it. 3mo
tpixie @TheBookHippie πŸ’πŸ’πŸ’ 3mo
UwannaPublishme This will be another first read for me. Looking forward to it! 3mo
TheBookHippie @batsy me either I‘m excited for it. 3mo
Blackink_WhitePaper Much excited ! 3mo
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Butterfinger
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Pickpick

I have never read Babar. Interesting. 1933 #CenturyReads

Jari-chan Childhood Memories! 😍 2y
Roary47 Oh man. I never read any of the books, but loved the show as a kids. πŸ₯° 2y
46 likes2 comments
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JenlovesJT47
Histoire de Babar le petit ιlιphant | Jean de Brunhoff, Laurent Brunhoff
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Pickpick

This is $2.99 on kindle and well worth it in my opinion. The story of Babar is a great way for me to practice my French and is also fun to read with adorable illustrations. 5⭐️

#LearningFrench

πŸ˜πŸ‡«πŸ‡·πŸ˜πŸ‡«πŸ‡·πŸ˜πŸ‡«πŸ‡·πŸ˜πŸ‡«πŸ‡·πŸ˜πŸ‡«πŸ‡·πŸ˜πŸ‡«πŸ‡·πŸ˜πŸ‡«πŸ‡·πŸ˜πŸ‡«πŸ‡·πŸ˜

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Deborah42
Histoire de Babar le petit ιlιphant | Jean de Brunhoff, Laurent Brunhoff
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Pickpick

Enfin un livre que je peux lire en français. J'ai lu ceci en anglais il y a plusieurs années. Babar est aussi gentil que je me souviens.

Jari-chan I used to love those when I was a kid 😍 4y
Eggs J‘adore Babar πŸ’—πŸ’— 4y
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Eggs
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Oh how my children loved reading Babar!! #animalbooks #31bookclips @howjessreads

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Cheshirecat913
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So, we got this book 2nd hand the other day and I read it to my daughter last night. I must not have read this one before because I remember cuddly and righteous King Babar, not everyone dying. 😯 Origin stories can be weird.
#boardbookbonanza
@ErinSueG @WhiskeyMistress

Erinsuereads What what what!!! 5y
12 likes1 comment
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Miss.Savannah
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I used to love this book and the TV show; but I heard it is very outdated and offensive for promoting colonialism and racial stereotypes 😧

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LisaJo
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1. All the wise advice my mom gave me in my youth that ignored.
2. Zoe.
3. About 300 - this does not include the floor, the closet, and under the bed. That is about 200 more.
4. Babar

#booksandshelfies @Amabear

Amabear Hahaha! That‘s great! 5y
24 likes1 comment
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GatheringBooks
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Pickpick

#FallIntoBooks Day 9: These colourful #Bookmarks are given to me by a good friend and fellow bibliophile/book blogger.

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PurpleyPumpkin
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Children's books often involve #anthropomorphiccharacters. So, for this #feistyfeb prompt, I thought I'd take a look at my collection of books to see if I had something appropriate. And I found Babar! I loved this book so much when I was a kid. But I had completely forgotten about it! πŸ’›πŸ˜#day6

cathysaid LOVED Babar 🐘❀️ 6y
CherylDeFranceschi ❀️❀️❀️ 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Great choice - he and Celeste are awesome! 6y
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Leigh0906
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Day 6 of #feistyfeb- I loved all of the Barbar books when I was little. By far the coolest elephant of all. #anthropomorphiccharacters #Barbar