Babar Comes to America
by Laurent de Brunhoff
Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by Muhammed Hassanali
As a child, I read Babar in French, hence wanted to introduce my children to this lovable elephant. Babar Comes to America was published in 1965 and this is a reprint of that edition. It is about an official visit that Babar makes to visit the President of the United States, and while in the U.S., he vacations with his family in some of its cities.
Babar first visits Washington DC, then goes to New York and Boston (to get a degree from Harvard). From there he goes to Detroit where he visits an automobile assembly plant, and to Chicago where he fishes in Lake Michigan. From Chicago he goes to San Francisco, the Pacific Coast, Yosemite Park, Death Valley, and Los Angeles. There he visits Hollywood and Disneyland and goes to see the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, Black Angus cattle (in Texas), and the French Quarter (in New Orleans) before returning to New York. In New York, he watches a football game and experiences Thanksgiving dinner before returning home.
De Brunhoff illustrates the consequences of over-eating when Babar does so during his time in New York and when Pom overeats in San Francisco. The illustration and the text constantly and subtly bring out the challenges of being well…big! This is done without a hint of discrimination, only consideration.
My nine-year-old read the book to his younger brother while Dad and Mom made up the audience. We first had to get past the fact that Babar is a “smaller” elephant (so he can fit in cars and other human creations); hence, he is drawn as slightly bigger than most humans are. My son commented that the bus fare in New York is not 15 cents. He also had no idea what a drive-in movie theater is, so there was supplemental learning. While the older one read the text, the younger one interpreted the pictures, giving us a fuller narrative.
As a family, this exercise was a wonderful experience as we shared our passion for reading and the splendors of the country we love.
Armchair Interviews says: A wonderful story, with a message that is still very fresh and entertaining.