In May R and I visited the spring rummage sale at the Croix Rouge Française to say hi to our friends and fellow volunteers. This group does great work and are some of my favorite old active people. What I learned in France was that retirement doesn't mean sitting all day on your fesse!
Laying in a giant mountain of plush toys and dolls, R spotted the kingly Babar—with a gold crown atop his head, spotless bright green suit, and black shoes. Babar stood out from the rest of the other peluches there, and R bought him for us, to bring to the U.S. as a reminder of France. Earlier I had found a beautifully illustrated French version of Babar at the Christmas rummage sale, so we needed to add to our collection.
At first Babar graced us with his presence in France, and now he's sitting in NYC after having survived the transatlantic trip in R's suitcase. He wasn't any worse for the trip, and recently we were lucky enough to meet Babar's author/illustrator, Laurent de Brunhoff.
September 10, 2011—R and I were so thrilled to have met Laurent de Brunhoff and his wife Phyllis Rose at Books of Wonder in NYC. Laurent graciously signed and illustrated my copy of his latest book,
Babar's Celestville Games. Phyllis Rose autographed Babar's Yoga for Elephants, a project that the de Brunhoffs worked on together. The couple took our address in France and will be sending us a paper invitation for
Les histoires de Babar exhibition in Paris which is planned for later this year.
We recently found out that our Babar is special—not only is he proportionately made and the best example of a Babar toy the de Brunhoffs have ever seen, Babar speaks and sings in French. We put some batteries into him and he recounts 5 or 6 stories and sings about 15 different songs
en français. Magnifique!
Links:
The 80th Anniversary of Babar
Les histoires de Babar at the Les Arts Décoraftifs Musée in Paris
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