BABAR, THE KING OF ELEPHANTS
Authors:
Laurent de Brunhoff and Jean de Brunhoff
First edition:
The original series of Babar is composed of 7 titles, first published by Jardin des Modes and later on by Hachette.
Histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant, Paris, 1931.
About its authors and illustrators:
Jean de Brunhoff is the author of the first 7 titles, which are the following:
Le Voyage de Babar (1932), Le Roi Babar (1933), L'ABC de Babar (1934), Les vacances de Zéphir (1936), Babar en famille (1938), Le voyage de Babar (1939) and Babar et le père Noël (1941).
Since Jean de Brunhoff died in October 1937, the last two books of this series are not entirely his.
Laurent de Brunhoff (born in 1925), took up his father's pen and adds many titles to the original Babar Series:
Babar et ce coquin d'Arthur (1948), Babar dans l'île aux oiseaux (1951), Babar à la fête de Célesteville (1954), Babar et le professeur Grifaton (1956), Le château de Babar (1961), Babar à New York (1966),...
Babar's coloured world is one of red, green and yellow, where grey elephants are highlighted. It is a optimistic world, full of affection and happiness. However, its lineal and synthetic graphism give expression to the volouminous elephants, in a harmonic composition. Its typography adds decorative elements and contrasts with the flat coloured images.
These albums have gone beyond the traditional small-scale tproduction and have become a best-seler in all bookstores after more than half a century (similar to what happened with the German book Slovenly Peter). Children love the adventures of Babar, his wife Queen Celeste and their children Alexander, Flora and Pom.
Adaptations:
Babar n°1, film directed by P.G. Brizzi and Shephard, 1989, Canada, 50 minutes.
On the Internet:
For toys, books, films or any other thing related to Babar, visit this site.