However, the illustrations also stem from this era and I quite like the fact that Babar obviously drives a vintage car and wears spats - a fair trade-off with the book's darker moments, I think. The happy effect that Babar has on us, and our imaginations, comes from this knowledge—from the child’s strong sense that, while it is a very good thing to be an elephant, still, the life of an elephant is dangerous, wild, and painful. Babar wins the war by having the elephants paint monster faces on their backsides, which cause the frightened rhinoceroses to run away.

Nestled with the sketches inside special pockets in a portfolio folder quarter-bound in cloth, it shows Babar develop from pencil drawing to fully-formed book character.Fine clothbound hardcover with light indications of shelving/handling in a Near Fine dust jacket with a hint of rubbing to the extremities and a touch of shelf wear. One of the most iconic series of animal books in history, Babar has become a household name both as a character in children’s books and on TV.

The one illustration I remember most after all these years is a dead elephant, so that should tell you how dark this can be for a kids' book. Finally, presented alongside thumbnail reproductions of each page, the sketch studies and maquette are annotated with references to the published book, and the story is given in both French and English in a new translation exclusive to this edition.

The first two of Jean de Brunhoff's Babar books have inspired two major concert works: L'Histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant ( The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant) by Francis Poulenc in 1940; and The Travels of Babar (Le Voyage de Babar) by Raphael Mostel in 1994. If there's anyone out there who is thinking about reading it with or getting it for their child(ren), if you're the type to be scared of by statements like the ones here (I hope you're not for your sake) get the book and read it through yourself first.

When I could at last read the words, I felt as if I’d cracked some sort of ancient code, so the books always felt quite magical to me. But when I started asking my son what it was about he got upset and started listing all the reasons he hated it. Whether the motive is amnesiac or therapeutic, the moment when the lost and motherless elephant enters the French city—Paris, surely, though also standing in for French colonial capitals from Saigon to Casablanca—is a magical moment. The true condition of the animals—to be naked, on all fours, in the jungle—is made shameful to them, while to become an imitation human, dressed and upright, is to be given the right to rule. Folio commissioned Hokyoung Kim for the artwork, while the late author’s wife, Wendy Benchley, provides a fascinating new introduction.

Book is covered in laminated pictorial scene of Babar and his Little Girl on a pink background; light shelfwear. The paper sides are printed with a design from de Brunhoff’s maquette and the box is fastened with grosgrain ribbon – again in Babar’s signature green. Love and Happiness, who are at the heart of the American vision, are, in Babar’s dream, mere tiny camp followers. The last date on the copyright page of this book is 1934, yet this being a Random House publication makes this at least a 1936 printing; despite its 1934 copyright date. With beautifully distinctive illustrations from Jean de Brunhoff, a sometimes surreal and sometimes moving story, and a loveable hero in the dignified Babar himself, The Story of Babar remains a firm favourite with children.