Babar the Elephant

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Cover of the first Babar story, Histoire de Babar (Story of Babar), published 1931

Cover of the second Babar story, Le Voyage de Babar (Babar's Voyage), published 1932

Babar the Elephant is a very popular French children's fictional character who first appeared in L'Histoire de Babar by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931, and enjoyed immediate success. English language versions, entitled The Story of Babar, appeared in 1933 in Britain and the United States. The story is based on a tale that Bunhoff's wife, Cecile, had invented for their children. It tells of a young elephant called Babar who leaves the jungle, visits a big city, and returns to bring the benefits of civilization to his fellow elephants.

Jean de Brunhoff published 6 more stories before his premature death in 1937 at the age of 37. His son Laurent de Brunhoff was also a talented writer and illustrator and he carried on the series from 1946 with Babar et Le Coquin d'Arthur and many more.

An animated TV series was produced by Nelvana Limited and Clifford Ross Company, and originally ran from January 3, 1989 to June 5, 1991. There were 78 episodes.