This urbane and kindly elephantine monarch and family "man" is one of the best known characters in 20th century children's literature - delighting children and adults alike for over 75 years.
Babar first came to life as a bedtime story that de Brunhoff heard from his mother in the 1930s. His father Jean drew the elephant described by his wife and named him Babar. The first book was The Story of Babar published 1931, and after that time, Jean published five more Babar stories before his death in 1937. In 1946, son Laurent published his first Babar story about Arthur, the king's cousin. Since then, de Brunhoff has written over thirty stories about the kingdom of Celesteville.
A Special Child-Friendly Installation
Visitors with children will find this special a child-friendly installation this fall in the Wilmot Gallery of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. The works will be hung lower than most traditional museum installations to take into account the sizes of younger viewers. In addition, the gallery will feature large “cut-outs” of many of the familiar characters from Babar, and special “flip charts” to test both adults and children’s knowledge of art history. The exhibit will also house a reading corner, so families and school groups will be able to enjoy other Babar adventures during their visit. Babar’s Museum of Art is one of the four books selected by the Dixon to be part of our family reading initiative: BooksmARTkids.
Dixon Partners with area Libraries for Babar
Families visiting Shelby County libraries this fall may have a chance to get a pre-view of Babar’s Museum of Art. Each of the area branches will feature a poster in their children’s section about the exhibition and will have special bookmarks for patrons informing them about the exhibition. Libraries also plan to have a Babar story hour sometime during November and December. In addition to this library outreach, area librarians will read a Babar book here at the Dixon every Saturday morning at 10:30 am in November and December. Remember, Saturday morning admission is FREE for everyone.
Exhibition generously sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. William B. Dunavant, Jr., Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center, and The Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation.