 "Not a children's book, in my opinion" | 2010-03-08 |
| - Reviewed By A Reader |
The Story of Babar was on my library's list of recommended books to read to preschoolers, presumably because it is a classic. Alas, as I have been finding in many of the classics we have read (the original Winnie the Pooh, Mother Goose, Grimm's fairy tales, etc.), Babar is not what I would consider a good book for young kids.
The illustrations are cute, I really like the rich vocabulary, and the story is linear and easy to follow. However, there are many decidedly adult themes presented and I just cannot understand the benefit of exposing a 3 year old to such horrific situations. Worse, the story handles these terrible situations in a completely emotionless way--giving the young reader very little time to process the events and instead starting on the beginnings of violence desensitization. I was also unable to detect any positive messages/morals to be learned from this story.
My daughter and I tend to be fairly practical. Fantasy, fiction, and whimsy are wonderful creative outlets, but we prefer they be based at least somewhat in reality. Talking elephants--we can do. Elephants walking on their hind legs, shopping, driving cars--ok, we can totally go with it. But they should still be elephants in some way: what they eat, where they live, how they socialize--something. In Babar, the characters were blatantly humans, who just happened to look like elephants for some reason. We tend to find that frustrating.
That said, this is not an offensive or horrible book with no place in society. I just don't think it's a good choice for young children. It could certainly be a useful resource in teaching older kids about several aspects of history (French history, colonialism, the draw of urban centers through history, etc.) as long as it was accompanied by discussion and further research. |
| |
 "Great classic book" | 2009-10-22 |
| - Reviewed By hungryjenn from Tucker, GA USA |
I think the reviewers who claim this book is imperialistic, or a bad story because Babar's mother gets shot are off in their assessment of the basic story. Imperialistic? This book is about an elephant. Perhaps it is not appropriate for a 3-year-old to read about elephants being shot and dying, but my daughter is six-years-old and has no problem understanding the concept of death and that it is a tragic eventuality of life.
I found this book a great entrance into a discussion with children about many topics, including France / Europe, elephant hunting and the efforts over the past 100 years to ban it, poisonous mushrooms, and the fact that the English language is a living, breathing, changing thing and a book written in the 1930s uses language different from a book written today. Yes, Babar's mother gets shot by a "wicked hunter" and the king elephant eats a mushroom and dies, and my daughter found these things very sad. So we talked about hunting elephants and why people hunted elephants and the fact that some mushrooms are poisonous, so we never eat anything growing outside without checking with mom or dad first. Personally, I am glad my daughter knows that hunting elephants was once a very popular sport and today is shunned by the majority of the world.
I think that shielding our children from the past / history simply because we are uncomfortable with some aspects of it does them an injustice. To understand where we're going, we need to take a look at where we came form. I hope that this book continues to be seen as a classic in the years to come. |
| |
 "An Unusual and Lighthearted Fantasy" | 2009-08-31 |
| - Reviewed By eyelevelbooks.com from Gaithersburg, MD |
Babar the elephant is born to loving mother and lives happily in the forest with her until she is killed by a wicked hunter. On fleeing from the hunter, he finds himself in a city. When he sees the people there are wearing clothes he wishes that he could do the same, and an empathetic Old Lady buys him a fine suit and takes him home. He lives with her until two of his runaway cousins cross his path. When he returns them to the forest he decides to stay, and the elephants choose him as their king.
This unusual story combines the drama of bereavement with comedic humor. Young children will enjoy the way Babar takes on human characteristics as he puts on his suit, and spreads the human influence of civilization to the entire elephant "people." Although he is shown grieving for the life he has lost, the evil that brought about his orphanhood is counterbalanced by the Old Lady's kindness, and his story is suffused with expectant hope. His traumatic bereavement remains a part of him, but it does not prevent him from bettering himself, helping others, marrying Celeste, and building a royal family together.
While some critics have objected to what they interpret as sexist and colonialist undercurrents [...], I think the Babar series is best understood as an innocent and deliciously lighthearted fantasy, at the heart of which exists a stable, joyful family. It's definitely worth reading. |
| |
| "one of the better offerings" | 2008-02-16 |
| - Reviewed By hesikastor |
| we have very few babar books. he died so young, and his family cannot cut it. the later books are so bad that they're offensive. but this is the first and it works. the only sad thing about it is that babar was not brunhoff's brain child but his wife's and she has never gotten credit for it. she created the elephant as bedtime material for their children. he retold them well, and illustrated them as his children cannot but she should have been co-author at the very least! our kids love this book and the characters and if adults poke holes they can keep quiet. remember, this was told in another day and age and must be read accordingly. |
| |
| "children love the drawings" | 2007-12-11 |
| - Reviewed By An Amazon User |
My 3 1/2 year old son loves this book. It's quite a long story and takes about 10 to 15 minutes. I actually never "read" the story to him, I tell the story in my own words, also because at one point, the mother of Barbar is shot my hunters. I tell my son, that Barbar's mother tripped and Barbar took the opportunity to run away. The rest of the book is marvellous and seems to touch children's longings and imagination, which I as a grownup can not always understand, but seeing how much my son enjoys the story is all I need to know. For some time now my son wants me to tell him the story every evening before going to bed.
The drawings are easy to understand, which makes this book even more precious to young children.
|
| |
| "Babar -- The Tradition Continues" | 2007-01-04 |
| - Reviewed By William Harlan from Walnut Creek, CA United States |
| I am in the process of reading Babar to my fourth grandchild, and she loves it! I grew up with the magical story and timeless pictures, as did my kids. My 19-month old granddaughter likes to sit on my lap for what she calls "Bar-Bar." The pages of Babar going for a drive and the wedding party with all the animals are great to play "Where's the....?" |
| |
Expedited Available
