fbloom's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.0
What kind of racist drawing was that, WTF?
This shows the time in which this was written and how differently indigenous people were viewed..
This shows the time in which this was written and how differently indigenous people were viewed..
iammandyellen's review against another edition
2.0
It is a strange thing to revisit the books that so captivated my childhood imagination as a grown woman presenting them to my own children. The delight I once felt in the characters and situations comes to me now in echoes, memories of the ways the stories used to affect me, tempered now by an adult faculty for critical thought. As I reread Babar's first story to my (nearly) two year olds, I was surprised to find a capitalist imperialist message lurking in the "civilization" of Babar the elephant by the kindly old woman who adopts and reeducates him when he arrives in the anonymous metropolis (having been driven there from the jungle by the loss of his mother to a white trophy hunter in a pith helmet). This colonial subtext, I thought as I read, doesn't interfere with my children's enjoyment of the animals' colorful portraits or in their joyful propensities to trumpet like elephants, tweet like exotic birds or chatter like monkeys. It is also true that I do not want to shield my children from difficult topics because I want them to develop critical responses from an early age. So, I thought, we will enjoy the fantasy of Babar for now and discuss the troubling aspects of the narrative at a later age, when they are able to understand.
During our most recent trip to our public library I crouched among the shelves selecting books while my twins played with puzzles and shyly encountered other library-going youngsters. When I came to de Brunhoff I did not hesitate to select the next book in the Babar saga. I did not expect my earlier decision to overlook the colonialist perspective on behalf of innocence to be so powerfully challenged, but I should have; it is inevitable that an ideology based on assertions of racial inferiority should produce the brutally racist imagery so colorfully illustrated in The Travels of Babar. In the story, Babar and his new bride Celeste set off on their honeymoon in a hot air balloon. When a storm maroons them on an island they assemble a make-shift camp and reconcile themselves to their surroundings. When Babar leaves to explore their new environment, Celeste is attacked by a group of black natives portrayed in stereotypically racist "black Sambo" style (large red lips, rolling eyes, simian physiognomies, etc). Stunned, I quietly closed the book as my son and daughter drifted unconcernedly away, their attention already lighting elsewhere. I sat on the floor overwhelmed by the depth and complexity of the grief I felt.
Later, while they slept, I reopened and finished the book. As I revisited the white imperialist representations of blackness I was struck by the dimension of the degradation and devaluation enacted by these images. As characters they are at once threatening and ridiculous, dangerous and ineffectual, and as caricatures they are undifferentiated and subhuman. These are cruel images, and cruelty is their intention. Just because they appear in the context of children's books to which I might have formed emotional attachments prior to my explicit awareness of such intentions does not excuse my continuing tolerance of them. Critical theorist bell hooks speaks of the ways that these kinds of representations not only serve the interests of white supremacist domination but also inflict painful psychological damage difficult to overcome and to resist. In solidarity with the struggle against the perpetuation of such representations I will remain committed to my endeavors to equip my children with critical consciousnesses, and I will not entertain them with images that promote structures of domination.
During our most recent trip to our public library I crouched among the shelves selecting books while my twins played with puzzles and shyly encountered other library-going youngsters. When I came to de Brunhoff I did not hesitate to select the next book in the Babar saga. I did not expect my earlier decision to overlook the colonialist perspective on behalf of innocence to be so powerfully challenged, but I should have; it is inevitable that an ideology based on assertions of racial inferiority should produce the brutally racist imagery so colorfully illustrated in The Travels of Babar. In the story, Babar and his new bride Celeste set off on their honeymoon in a hot air balloon. When a storm maroons them on an island they assemble a make-shift camp and reconcile themselves to their surroundings. When Babar leaves to explore their new environment, Celeste is attacked by a group of black natives portrayed in stereotypically racist "black Sambo" style (large red lips, rolling eyes, simian physiognomies, etc). Stunned, I quietly closed the book as my son and daughter drifted unconcernedly away, their attention already lighting elsewhere. I sat on the floor overwhelmed by the depth and complexity of the grief I felt.
Later, while they slept, I reopened and finished the book. As I revisited the white imperialist representations of blackness I was struck by the dimension of the degradation and devaluation enacted by these images. As characters they are at once threatening and ridiculous, dangerous and ineffectual, and as caricatures they are undifferentiated and subhuman. These are cruel images, and cruelty is their intention. Just because they appear in the context of children's books to which I might have formed emotional attachments prior to my explicit awareness of such intentions does not excuse my continuing tolerance of them. Critical theorist bell hooks speaks of the ways that these kinds of representations not only serve the interests of white supremacist domination but also inflict painful psychological damage difficult to overcome and to resist. In solidarity with the struggle against the perpetuation of such representations I will remain committed to my endeavors to equip my children with critical consciousnesses, and I will not entertain them with images that promote structures of domination.
remocpi's review against another edition
4.0
Recuerdo a Babar con mucho cariño, un pobre 
que tiene la suerte de encontrar a una benefactora en la ciudad. Hay lecturas más críticas que la mía, y no seré yo el que las discuta. Pero como el mismo autor del artículo refleja, los niños no leen el subtexto de Babar. La historia me pareció edificante en su día, cuando yo era el público objetivo del libro.
Spoiler
huerfanitobdplume's review against another edition
4.0
I don't remember the details of this specific story, but I liked Babar OK.
whanthataprille's review against another edition
I really enjoy the Babar stories—so lovely and French with beautiful illustrations and a cute, proper narrative voice. But oh no! No no. We will not be reading this one again. Such terribly offensive depictions of “cannibals.” I was shocked when I turned the page to see the illustrations and was glad C is only 4 months old.
heypretty52's review against another edition
3.0
Read this a couple of months ago for the first time since childhood. I'm sure for a child, the adventures are quite fun, but as an adult, the book is over-whelming in its racial stereotypes. I'll try to keep in mind the period in which it was written.
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