crystal_reading's review against another edition
1.0
Very little plot and the little there is very colonial. Ugh.
mehsi's review against another edition
4.0
My fourth book for Banned Books Week. This was a pretty fun book to read, though also sad (in the beginning).
samiism's review against another edition
1.0
Like one reviewer said, "French colonial wish fulfillment". I couldn't get with the TV show and now I know why.
fbloom's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
J’aime que cette livre sont relativement facile, parce que mon niveau de Français n’est pas trés élevé. Pourqoui donc mes 3,5 étoiles? Je pense c’est n’est pas d’une oeuvre qui sont super belle ou littéraire. Mais bien sûr, c’est une histoire mignonne est donc été très amusant à lire.
J’ai vu le programme de Babar toujours à la télé, j’aimais cela bien avant. Pourqoui c’est maintenant la nostalgie pour moi.
Voilà, mon avis :)
Tout à fait recommendé! (Certainement aux personnes qui commencent à apprendre Français.)
PS: dit is ws niet goed Frans, maar moet toch op de een of andere manier oefenen.
En boeie ruurd, boeie
J’ai vu le programme de Babar toujours à la télé, j’aimais cela bien avant. Pourqoui c’est maintenant la nostalgie pour moi.
Voilà, mon avis :)
Tout à fait recommendé! (Certainement aux personnes qui commencent à apprendre Français.)
PS: dit is ws niet goed Frans, maar moet toch op de een of andere manier oefenen.
En boeie ruurd, boeie
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
2.0
This book has not aged well. Well, actually the art is pretty cool, it's the story that's a challenge.
On top of the colonialism and the casual killing of Babar's mother, you've got the idea of relatively dumb elephants. And the writing itself is simple and trite.
On top of the colonialism and the casual killing of Babar's mother, you've got the idea of relatively dumb elephants. And the writing itself is simple and trite.
amslersf's review against another edition
1.0
I'm not planning to add children's books to my page, but this one really took my breath away as I read it to my one year old one night.
First of all, Babar's mother is shot on like page two. There she is lying dead with the gloating hunter holding his rifle. Yikes! Little orphan Babar meekly watches on, barely a tear in his elephant eye.
However, this isn't enough to warrant a review. It's what comes next. Babar's story then unfolds as some bizarre French colonial wish fulfillment. Babar, following his mother's murder at the hands of white hunters, blithely follows their path back to the white city. There, he falls into the trusteeship of a sweet grandmotherly lady who helps him get settled into the city. Without his own mother, Babar is a child of the colonial city, happily learning to dress the dandy and eat french pastries.
With the benefits of his education in a civilized country- thank god he's finally wearing clothes over the wrinkled, sagging, gray elephant skin- Babar returns to the land of his people where, due to his fine duds and worldly ways, is immediately declared king of the naked Afri- I mean- elephants.
Babar returns home, more French than the French, and ready to lead his people on the path to civilization. Thank God, those hunters killed his mother!
First of all, Babar's mother is shot on like page two. There she is lying dead with the gloating hunter holding his rifle. Yikes! Little orphan Babar meekly watches on, barely a tear in his elephant eye.
However, this isn't enough to warrant a review. It's what comes next. Babar's story then unfolds as some bizarre French colonial wish fulfillment. Babar, following his mother's murder at the hands of white hunters, blithely follows their path back to the white city. There, he falls into the trusteeship of a sweet grandmotherly lady who helps him get settled into the city. Without his own mother, Babar is a child of the colonial city, happily learning to dress the dandy and eat french pastries.
With the benefits of his education in a civilized country- thank god he's finally wearing clothes over the wrinkled, sagging, gray elephant skin- Babar returns to the land of his people where, due to his fine duds and worldly ways, is immediately declared king of the naked Afri- I mean- elephants.
Babar returns home, more French than the French, and ready to lead his people on the path to civilization. Thank God, those hunters killed his mother!
wombat_reads's review against another edition
3.0
I read the book in a fit of nostalgia. As a child I loved the story and the illustrations tenderly. Suddenly I discovered that Barbar is propaganda for French colonialism. A sudden discovery, but for 1931 it's perhaps not surprising.
julieclair's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I loved this book as a child, and perhaps that is why I still find it charming as an adult, despite the underlying political messages of which I am now aware.