Babar's Museum of Art [Hardcover]

Laurent De Brunhoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003 | Grade Level: P and up

Babar and Celeste turn the Celesteville train station into a museum filled with elephant art inspired by master painters.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

On one of their weekly balloon flights over Celesteville, Babar and Celeste notice that the railroad station is standing empty. Elephants, it seems, now prefer cars over trains. Interestingly, although Babar comments on the roads "jammed with traffic," he and his queen decide to focus on the other issue--the abandoned station. Celeste comes up with an idea to turn it into a museum to house their art collection, and soon an architect is drawing up plans and workers are renovating the building. When the great day of the opening arrives, what a show! The royal couple had acquired some pretty impressive and well known works of art--all featuring elephants, of course. Laurent de Brunhoff outdoes himself with the real-life art-inspired paintings and sculptures, from Mary Cassatt’s "Mother and Child" to Edvard Munch’s "The Scream" to Leonardo da Vinci’s "Mona Lisa." Young art buffs will enjoy the very age-appropriate art appreciation lessons, as the children are encouraged! to say whatever they want about the art: "I like this picture because it’s red," says Arthur about Van Gogh’s "Self-Portrait." When pedantic Cornelius tries to pontificate, Celeste gently hushes him. Includes a free pull-out poster. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-With the help of an architect and friends, Babar and Celeste decide to establish a museum in the old Celesteville train station and donate their extensive art collection. Readers follow along as de Brunhoff's lighthearted offering touches on how such institutions might be created, how to behave in a museum, and art appreciation. Celeste's most valuable instructions for small children: "look, don't touch, and tell me what you see" precedes Babar's timely reminder, "there are no rules to tell us what art is." The Celesteville museum exhibits echo noted artworks from Rubens to Cezanne, Whistler to Pollock, as more than 30 major works (imitated with pachyderm subjects) fill the pages. Consider this an introduction to museums for the youngest readers, especially for Babar fans. Older students will find entertaining comparisons to classic art collections. For a closer pairing with masterworks, share Jacqueline Weitzman's You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum (Dial, 1998). A fine choice for all libraries.
Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810945975
• ISBN-13: 978-0810945975
• Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #140,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Elephants

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful visit to Babar's Museum of Art, September 22, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Babar's Museum of Art (Hardcover)

A balloon ride over Celesteville leads to Babar and Celeste deciding to turn in an abandoned train station into a museum in which they can display their great collection of fine paintings. Everyone in town gets more and more excited waiting for the big day when the museum is opened and everyone can see everything that is hanging on the walls inside. The paintings might be intended for the elephants and other animal friends of Babar and Celeste and this book might be intended for younger readers, but the readers who will most enjoy Laurent De Brunhoff's book are going to be those old enough to appreciate the witty elephant-inspired version of great paintings from Michaelangelo's "Creation of Man" and Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" to George Surat's "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" and Edvard Munch's "The Scream." There is just something intrinsically enjoyable about taking Leonardi Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and making the lady with enigmatic smile an elephant, and the idea of doing the same thing with Vincent Van Gogh's "Self Portrait" is hysterical since Babar is an African elephant and not an Indian elephant. The more you know about great art the more you will enjoy strolling through the galleries with Babar and his family. The book also includes a pull-out poster of the delightful art found in "Babar's Museum of Art." The adventures of Babar have been delighting children for half a century and this is a charming addition to the series. It should also inspire its young readers to check out the "real" versions of these great paintings so that they can find out what the adults are chuckling about as they enjoy "Babar's Museum of Art." Is it too early to be thinking about books that would be great to give as gifts to young readers for Christmas? This one should be high up on that list.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, March 9, 2004

By 

Mike (Frisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Babar's Museum of Art (Hardcover)

My wife's parents gave this book to my daughter. I was as delighted as she was! I grew up on Babar. What a lovely children's book! My four year old daughter absolutely adores it. Buy this for the children in your life and they will love it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful for preschoolers through elementary children!, September 3, 2003

By 

Dave in Hagerstown "oriolesfan61" (Hagerstown, MD, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Babar's Museum of Art (Hardcover)

Some of us remember having "Babar" books read to us when we were children. This book rekindles those warm thoughts while providing an interesting, entertaining look at art and life.