By Jean de Brunhoff (Egmont)
ISBN: 978-1-4052-3821-2
This is actually the sixth tale of Babar the Elephant. First published in 1938 as Babar en famille it returns the King to centre stage after L’ABC de Babar (1934) and les vacances de Zéphir (1936) – both unavailable in English at this time – and tells how our now settled hero embarks on perhaps his greatest adventure – parenthood.
When Babar announces that Queen Celeste is pregnant, the entire kingdom rejoices and prepares for the great event. Very quickly after he realises that there is nothing for him to do! In the fullness of time, though, his boredom is replaced by shock and joy when Celeste presents him with triplets! The happy parents name them Flora, Pom and Alexander.
The remainder of the book deals with the frankly hair-raising exploits of the toddlers as they narrowly escape crashing off a cliff in their pram, getting lost in the woods and even drowning and being eaten by crocodiles!
This volume shows an artistic polish not seen in the earlier books (and even a slight experiment with comicbook formatting) that is truly delightful, and the boisterous storytelling belies the undeserved anodyne reputation the series has in some quarters. There are quite a few thrills in this book, so much so that parents might want to read this first before giving it to the very young or impressionable.
© 2008 Edition. All Rights Reserved.