The first in a series of Babar books, this one was originally published in 1931.
This was one of my favorites as a young girl, however it does have some uncomfortable topics such as hunting, taking animals from the wild, and death. Sure, I was sad at the beginning and creeped by one illustration in particular, but all in all, I loved this story and it's illustrations.
I believe that kids shouldn't be completely sheltered from everything uncomfortable. In fact, what better way to introduce some uncomfortable topics than in children's literature??
That said, this is the story of a little elephant named Babar who lived happily with his mother and extended family in the jungle. One day a hunter killed his mother and took him to the city.
Babar was befriended by a wealthy but lonely old lady who moved Babar into her house and doted on him, giving him fine clothing and everything he wanted. At first, that was nice and he was impressed by the city.
However, after a while, he realized that other than his fast car and fancy clothing, what he really wanted was to go home to the jungle and reunite with his family. When his cousins were found lost and wondering the city, Babar decided to take them home.
The old lady wished him well and Babar returned with his cousins only to discover that the old elephant king was dying of old age (this was the illustration that bothered me a bit). The elephants decided that since Babar has rescued the children, he should be the new king, and all ended happily, setting up the next step in the series, his life as king of elephants.
I enjoyed many of the books in this series, and have a love of elephants today, perhaps because of Babar.
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