The Story of Babar facts for kids

The Story of Babar (French: L'Histoire de Babar) is a famous picture book from France. It was written and illustrated by Jean de Brunhoff and first published in 1931. The English version came out in 1933.

The book tells the story of a young elephant named Babar. His mother is lost to a hunter, and Babar decides to leave the jungle. He travels to a big city, where he learns about human ways of living. After a while, he returns to his elephant community, bringing new ideas and knowledge from the city.

Babar's Journey to the City

When Babar's mother is lost, he feels sad and confused. He wanders away from his home in the jungle and finds himself in a busy human city. Everything is new and exciting to him. He sees tall buildings, cars, and people wearing clothes. An old lady in the city helps Babar. She buys him new clothes and teaches him about city life. Babar enjoys learning new things and living in the city for a while.

Becoming the King of Elephants

After some time, Babar's cousins, Arthur and Celeste, find him in the city. They tell him that the old king of the elephants has passed away after eating a bad mushroom. Because Babar has traveled and learned so much, the other elephants decide he would make a great new king. Babar agrees to return to the jungle and lead his community.

As king, Babar brings many of the good ideas he learned in the city back to the elephants. He marries his cousin, Celeste, and they have children together. They teach their children and all the elephants important lessons about life and how to live well together.

About the Author

Jean de Brunhoff was a French writer and artist. He created the character of Babar the Elephant. The idea for Babar came from stories his wife, Cécile, told their children. Jean de Brunhoff drew the pictures and wrote the stories. He published several Babar books before he passed away in 1937. His son, Laurent de Brunhoff, continued to write and illustrate new Babar adventures.

Images for kids

• 

  A robot image, like one you might see in a kid's encyclopedia.