Babar, the little elephant

In 1931, the noble elephant who came to the city, where he acquired an elegant green suit and a bowler hat, made his debut in Paris in Jean de Brunhoff’s classic picture book, *The Story of Babar*. Now, more than 70 years later, millions of children have cried as they watched the brave little elephant escape from the wicked hunter who killed his mother, laughed as they watched him go up and down (and up and down!) in the department store elevator, and cheered his return to the forest to be crowned King of the Elephants. Babar and Celeste, the Old Lady, and Cornelius have become a nostalgic part of the literary landscape. Yet each new generation, discovering the books for the first time, is immediately captivated by the simplicity of the text and the elegant use of line and color in the illustrations.