Genre: Comics, children's literature
Summary
I can't believe it's taken me so long to recommend Babar! This little elephant is the pride and joy of French children's literature, and it's not hard to tell why with his sweet little suit and Parisian exploits. This particular volume is from 1931, and the print isn't even print, but handwriting, so it's a real joy to read and the hand-drawn images are darling.
Mini-Critique
Histoire de Babar le petit éléphant is Babar's origin story, and given the time during which it was written, it may not be a surprise that his backstory is a little dark. In this version, Babar moves to Paris after watching his mother get shot by a hunter, so the story isn't quite as soft and fluffy as later versions. While those who aren't interested in another children's story with a macabre beginning may not be interested in this book, they should still try out other, younger Babar stories. People who enjoy children's books in general will likely enjoy Babar, but if you're looking for a more mature story this may not be the book for you.
Difficulty Rating
★★✩✩✩ Easygoing
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This is a children's book, and therefore the concepts and storyline are fairly simplistic and easy to follow. This may be a nice challenging for ★★✩✩✩ Easygoing level learners, as the book features some more advanced vocabulary, but by using contextual clues most ★★✩✩✩ Easygoing learners should be able to decipher any new vocab.
Read Babar here!