Jean de Brunhoff

During the visit to Brive-la-Gaillarde in 1940, Poulenc sketched a little piece for the children of his cousins: Sophie, Sylvie, Benoit, Florence and Delphine Périer, Yvan, Alain, Marie-Christine and Marguerite-Marie Villotte, and their two friends Marthe Bosredon and André Lecoeur. This took the form of a musical background to Jean de Brunhoff's popular illustrated children's story about Babar, a baby elephant whose mother is killed by a huntsman. Fortunately Babar meets a kind elderly lady who dresses him in a fine suit and gives him an impressive motor-car. However, Babar feels homesick for his forests, and is pleased when his cousins, Arthur and Celeste, find him and needs no persuasion to go home with them. Back in the forest, where the King of the Elephants has eaten a poisonous mushroom, Babar is elected to succeed as King. He marries Celeste, and the last we hear of him is thinking of a rosy future as he dreamily looks up at a marvellously star-filled sky. Poulenc's score, to which he returned and completed in 1945, is for a narrator and a Piano, so written that the individual sections offer the pianist a number of self-contained descriptive pieces, such as a Lullaby, a Reverie, a Galop, a Nocturne and so on. Indeed, some of Poulenc's finest Piano music is found in these charming pages. In 1962, Jean Françaix made an orchestral version, and Barbar has been enjoyed by children of all ages all over the world. An English translation of the text was made by Nelly Rieu. This particular edition is arranged for Narrator and Piano duet (1 Piano, 4 hands) and a separate insert with English translation is included.

Babar and Father Christmas is the perfect gift for the Babar fan. The exquisite Babar stories have charmed readers around the world for 70 years. All books are illustrated in full colour, with Jean de Brunhoff's original drawings.

This charming French illustrated classic follows the adventures of Babar the elephant as he becomes king of his people.

â?? If you love elephants, you will love Babar and Celeste,â?¦ writes A. A. Milne, author of Winnie-the-Pooh, in his preface to The Story of Babar. â?? And if you have never loved elephants, you will love them now.â?¦"

Babar the elephant’s happy days in the forest are shattered when a wicked huntsman shoots his mother. Scared and sad, Babar runs away to the city. Here he meets the Old Lady who buys him a red car and a green suit and a professor who gives him lessons. But although he enjoys telling his new friends about life in the great forest, he misses his mother, and the monkeys, so when he finds his elephant cousins, who have come to the city on their own adventure, he drives them back to their homeland. There he is crowned King of the Elephants and his cousin Celeste becomes queen. The adventures of Babar the little elephant have delighted generations of children ever since his first appearance in 1931. This classic children’s story, the first in the Babar series, is reissued as a beautiful gift edition. It is perfect for rediscovering this charming story and its perennially popular characters.

Facsimile edition, published in the original large format with hand-written lettering, a feature of the original French editions.

Every child's favorite elephant, Barbar, returns in this unusual and heartwarming Christmas story. Babar's children have caught wind of a fellow in Man's country named Father Christmas who brings joy and toys to little children. "If only we could bring him here," they wish. So they write the Christmas saint a letter inviting him to visit them. When they get no reply, Babar, ever the good father, rushes out to find the red-suited one. After much searching, and with the help of a dog named Duck, Babar reaches Father Christmas's workshop in the snow. Can Babar find a way to bring him to Elephants' country?

Facsimile edition, published in the original large format with hand-written lettering, a feature of the original French editions.

Illus. in full color by the author. Babar establishes Celesteville, the beautiful and happy city over which he and his queen reign.

The classic story of literature's most beloved elephant. After his mother is killed by a hunter, Babar avoids capture by escaping to the city, where he is befriended by the kindly Old Lady. Later, with cousins Celeste and Arthur, he returns to the great forest to be crowned King of the Elephants. With the original illustrations from Jean de Brunhoff's 1931 classic, this first Babar story has enchanted generations.