![]() Unlike other characters in juvenile classics-"children" like Alice, Pippi, Wilbur, and Christopher Robin-Babar is a grown-up whom young readers listen to and identify with they participate in his saga from birth through childhood and youth, to young manhood, marriage, leadership, and eventually, fatherhood. After Jean's premature death at the age of thirty-seven, his eldest son Laurent became the voice of Babar, authoring over sixty books that have permanently fixed the natty elephant into the public consciousness. The initial brainstorm of Cécile de Brunhoff, who created the ubiquitous pachyderm as an evening's bedtime story for sons Laurent and Mathieu, Babar was introduced to the world by her husband Jean who turned the playful tale into a lasting memorial of fatherly love and familial wisdom over the course of seven picture books. One of the most iconic characters in twentieth-century children's literature, Babar the elephant represents the gentle legacy of the de Brunhoff family and remains a strong influence on the continuing evolution of picture book art. ![]() For further information on the "Babar" series, see CLR, Volume 4. The following entry presents commentary on the de Brunhoffs' "Babar" picture book series (1931–2005) through 2006. Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff INTRODUCTIONįrench authors and illustrators of picture books. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |