Laurent de Brunhoff, the artist who revived his father’s picture book series about beloved children’s character, Babar the elephant, has died at the age of 98. According to the New York Times, de Brunhoff passed away on Friday, at his home in Key West, from complications of a stroke.

Legacy Left Behind

Babar the elephant’s first appearance dates back to the 1930’s. This iconic character has been in dozens of children’s books, as well as featured on screen, in films like, Babar: The Movie and Babar: King of the Elephants.

However, before all of that fame and exposure, the little elephant was very personal to the de Brunhoff clan.

Laurent de Brunhoff was only 12 when his father, Jean de Brunhoff, passed away from tuberculosis. Despite losing his father at such a young age, the French author and artist shared with National Geographic that he had very fond memories of his parents making up a story to entertain him and his brother.

“My mother started to tell us a story to distract us about this young elephant, who leaves his home in the jungle for Paris, and gets taken in by a wealthy old woman along the way.” De Brunhoff recalls that it was a joint effort on behalf of his parents, with this mother calling the elephant “Bebe” and then later, his father later changing the name to “Babar”.

“We loved it!” De Brunhoff fondly exclaimed, referring to the made-up story for just for him and his brother. “And that was how the story of Babar was born.”

Babar Blossoms and Booms

From a personal family tale, to a global cultural phenomenon, with over 30,000 Babar publications in over 17 languages, over 8 million books sold, and over 100 merchandise licensees issued worldwide, Babar stands along the likes of Disney’s Mickey Mouse, as one of the most recognized children’s characters in the world.

Tributes are being shared from around the world

“And now King Babar and Queen Celeste, both eager for further adventures, set out…in a gorgeous yellow balloon.” – Jean De Brunhoff

Angela Waterfield

Writer | angela@goodereader.com

An avid book reader and proud library card holder, Angela is new to the world of e-Readers. She has a background in education, emergency response, fitness, loves to be in nature, traveling and exploring. With an honours science degree in anthropology, Angela also studied writing after graduation. She has contributed work to The London Free Press, The Gazette, The Londoner, Best Version Media, Lifeliner, and Citymedia.ca.

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