History

Every year children around the world discover Babar and his royal kingdom of Celesteville. Since the first book was published in 1931, children have been fascinated by the adventures of Babar and his family and friends. The adventures of Babar are enchanting stories that impart enduring and simple values and have made the Babar books among the most loved classics of children's literature. For over 70 years children, parents and grandparents have treasured Babar and all the inhabitants of Celesteville.

Jean de Brunhoff was born on December 9, 1899 in France. He spent his childhood in Paris. A painting lover, he was educated in Paris and decided to study Art. At the Othon Fietz workshop, Jean met and became close friends with the painter Emile Sabouraud. Little by little, he increased the visits to the Sabouraud family house located at Chessy, in the east of Paris, not far away from La Marne (the river). He was welcomed by the family and that is where he met Ccile, Emile's sister, a pianist who became his wife on October 28, 1924.

Driven by the happiness of the couple, the two families become closer. Jean and C�cile who both had artistic dispositions were complementary. Laurent was born into this creative milieu on August 30, 1925, followed by Mathieu, on July 28, 1926.

Life continued in a happy and peaceful environment. Every season, the families met in Paris or Chessy and enjoyed a quiet life with the children who would later be so important to Laurent's work.

To make Laurent and Mathieu sleep, C�cile read them stories of Grimm, Andersen or Perrault, but one evening, for once, she told them a story of her invention, a story about a little elephant which lived in the jungle and whose mother was killed by a hunter. Frightened, the little elephant runs away to the big city.

For his two sons, fascinated by these new adventures, Jean drew the little elephant and called him Babar. It is the beginning of the saga. Encouraged by an uncle publisher, Jean completed the first book which was published in 1931. The mixture of sobriety, poetry and originality creates the surprise. The features, particularly controlled in spite of their apparent simplicity, makes the style immediately recognizable. Even the format of the book, exceptionally large for a children's book - 37 cm high, 30 cm width made the difference.

As the stories continued, new characters were introduced and created an exceptionally rich universe. Each new story allowed the author to go deeper into Babar's personality. Babar is intelligent, patient, curious and in tune with others. The stories of Babar were greatly influenced by Jean and C�cile's family life. The taste for the neat suits reflects the fashion of the time. The clearness of the style hides an exceptional work and a synthesis of many techniques. All Jean's artistic culture is reflected in his line and allows him to create his own style. The lines, the colors, the text simple and explicit make Babar stories unique.

Year after year, new books continue to be published, extending Babar's popularity even further. The fame and the success are there, on a level not yet reached. In 1935, Jean de Brunhoff receives an order to decorate the children's dining room of the prestigious transatlantic boat, Le Normandie.

In 1945, the famous music composer Francis Poulenc created an original music based on the original story of Babar, celebrating his poetic qualities.

The birth of the third son, Thierry, inspired Jean who created the book "Babar and His Children". It is interesting to note, however, that Celeste have birth to two boys and one girl.

A London daily newspaper, The Daily Sketch, ordered two stories of Babar's adventures, "Babar and His Children" and "Babar and Father Christmas" Unfortunately, Jean will never be able to see the print. He dies on October 16, 1937 from tuberculosis.

At 33 years, C�cile was left alone with her three sons.

In 1944, Laurent at 19 years of age, obtained his high school diploma and decided to study Art. Like his father, he entered The Academy of Grande Chaumi�re and attended the classes of Othon Frietz.

Two years later, overcoming pain and nostalgia of losing his father, Laurent published his first Babar book in 1946. He was only 21 years old. "To make Babar live is a way of making my father live too", he said. But by succeeding his father, Laurent will do much more than simply continue his work. He developed his own style, his own stories and allowed Babar to exist in many different forms other than traditional books.

The notoriety of the character helped Laurent's development in different areas. Each new medium used helped in the evolution of this famous character.

After having written and illustrated 33 books, Laurent de Brunhoff has seen this kind pachyderm live new adventures on television, in theaters, and on video. With more than a hundred products, the universe of the little elephant expanded drastically and is part of children's lives in more than 150 countries. It has been over 70 years since it all started and it continues. All because one evening, a mother wanted to make her children dream and their father was able to translate the dream into vivid stories.