Customer Reviews

Babar's Little Girl (Babar Classics)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just read this story to my four-year old daughter. It's a classic story from this author, nothing "wrong" with it, but you do need to watch out and may want to explain some parts. In the storyline, the girl elephant wanders off by herself and accepts a boatride from a stranger...then she knocks on the door of an unfamiliar house. Two male characters invite her inside and they all play together until they overhear a news alert that Babar is looking for his missing daughter, so they take her home. After reading it, I explained to my daughter that I didn't want her to wander off, accept boat rides from strangers or knock on unfamiliar doors and go inside a stranger's home. This story was written in a simpler era when concerns were a bit different than in today's world.

I read this story to my 3 year old because I remember loving Babar as a child, but I will not read it to her again. The little girl in the story wanders off, accepts rides from strangers, plays in an adult's house all day without her parents knowing where she is, and then when she returns home they all have a good laugh about it. It is at best, teaching a dangerous message to impressionable young kids.

If you are a Babar fan, you know Pom, Flora, and Alexander quite well. In this book, Celeste is about to have a baby. Babar is hoping for a girl, so he will have equal numbers of daughters and sons. When Celeste unexpectedly gives birth under a tree, he gets his wish! The remainder of the story describes Isabella's babyhood and her personality. I enjoyed this first Isabella story, and look forward to hearing more about her in future Babar books.

Isabella brings great pleasure to the royal elephant family. Babar is a proud papa. "Celeste loved to show her off at every opportunity. Pom, Flora, and Alexander were enchanted . . . and so was everyone else."

Everyone agreed Isabella was an "amazing baby." She soon stood in her cradle and hurled her toys at her siblings. She had a hearty appetite and was "full of energy." But she could be very quiet, and would sit peacefully watching a grasshopper (her favorite insect) in the grass.

As an independent child, she began to present challenges. At her fifth birthday party, she went off alone and Babar had to scold her.

A few days later the whole family went for a walk. Isabella had already forgotten about the scolding, and went off to play hide-and-seek with herself. Soon, she was nowhere to be found. Then her great adventure began.

When it was over, cousin Arthur didn't believe a word of her story, even though it was all true. Babar scolded her, and she fell asleep on his large lap. "Our little girl is very special," he said.

This book is excellent for introducing the idea of having a new sibling in a family, and that life will be different than anyone can expect. Parents who are about to have a new offspring should get this book as one of many to help ease the transition.

I also liked the idea that children have unique personalities, and will express those personalities as easily as they breathe. I was glad to see that Isabella was made more distinctive than the other Babar children in this way, who often seem to be a little on the uninteresting side.

The other appeal of this book is how a family adapts and becomes different with each new arrival. That message is carried out in a positive and pleasant way, that is totally credible. Nicely done!

The book is good, too, for reinforcing the idea of getting help from family friends. So if you child is accidentally locked out of the house, it will seem natural to go to the friendly parents of a neighbor child to get the key you have left there. This story should make every child feel more wanted, and part of a wide support network of loving adults and family.

After you finish enjoying this story, I suggest that you ask your child to tell you more about what a family is, what each person in your family is like, and what she or he hopes for from being part of the family. You can use the Babar stories as one point of reference. One good connection here is that the Babars have lots of friends who have relationships with the children. Does your child like or not like that feature? In this way, you can help your child begin to visualize what kind of life he or she will want to build as an adult.

Appreciate the specialness of each person, animal, and plant!

This delightful story is a complete ego trip for little girls who find themselves the youngest in a family of several siblings. It features many adventures, adoring older children, adoring parents, and a little girl who is the apple of everyone's eye. It also -- a bit subtly -- features beloved family friends who are a same-sex couple. This goes over the heads of the little ones.

This book starts off harmless enough. Babar and Celeste are going to have a new baby. Midway through the story it starts turning strange. Little Isabelle, who is sort of a free spirit, wanders away from her family. She embarks on an adventure which leads her to a river with a house on the opposite bank that she wants to go to. She asks an old stranger for a boat ride across and approaches the house. It is inhabited by two "gentlemen" who, when told that Isabelle is looking for someone to play with, tell her "You have come to the right place".
As a father of a five year old girl, my radar went off. It has a creepy feeling to me. The two gentlemen play hide-and-seek with her in the house, demonstrate yoga, and teach her to play poker. Seems harmless enough right? Why not teach her a few drinking games while you are at it? It just seems weird. There is no talk of whether she is lost or does she need help. Just two adults playing with a lost child.
Later they watch TV together and discover that Babar is worried and looking for her. There is an interesting bit of dialog as the two gentlemen discuss how to get her home. "Does she have the courage?" one of the men wonders aloud. This struck me as odd. Isabelle wanders away from her family, hops a boat, and spends the afternoon with two strangers. I think she has plenty of courage. It feels to me like it is more of a subversive message designed to stand out.
OK, so they get Isabelle home safely but refuse to stay and meet her parents when she invites them. They do however invite her to "come and see us again". Isabelle then reunites with her siblings who tell her "You are so lucky, Isabelle. How come all of the exciting things happen to you?" Again, to me it seems to be making a point to a young mind. Finally, Isabelle tells her story to her parents who believed it all and "didn't make fun of her." Say what?
I am not afraid of my daughter exploring the world nor do I shun whimsical stories for kids. This one was just weird.

I loved Babar as a kid. However, I only knew about the first three books. I was happy to see there were more.

This is a sweet little story about the new addition to the family. We get to see Pom, Flora and Alexander have grown and welcome their new sister Isabelle. She is a special child, independent and adventuras much to her families chagrin.

There other the other characters; the old lady, Arthur, Zephir, and Boover and Picardee.

My girl loves this story and I still read it several times a week.

The book is built well and has a good cloth binding that stands well to a 4 year olds use and abuse.

I just read this story to my four-year old daughter. It's a classic story from this author, nothing "wrong" with it, but you do need to watch out and may want to explain some parts. In the storyline, the girl elephant wanders off by herself and accepts a boatride from a stranger...then she knocks on the door of an unfamiliar house. Two male characters invite her inside and they all play together until they overhear a news alert that Babar is looking for his missing daughter, so they take her home. After reading it, I explained to my daughter that I didn't want her to wander off, accept boat rides from strangers or knock on unfamiliar doors and go inside a stranger's home. This story was written in a simpler era when concerns were a bit different than in today's world.