Dibs

This year is Happy Birthday #75 for Babar the Elephant, “the fictional pachyderm decried by some as a symbol of oppression and imperialism,” reports North Korea Times: “Babar, who lives in a world reminiscent of colonial-era French settlements in Africa, is being celebrated in France with postage stamps, a marketing deal with the Environment Ministry and a new book, Babar’s World Tour.” A new edition of Babar’s Yoga for Elephants, drawn by original author Jean de Brunhoff’s son Laurent de Bruhoff, is due out this fall featuring sketches of the fictional pachyderm doing one-leg stands and other yoga poses. Babar, the Times tells us, “has been called a symbol of racism and imperialism by his detractors. Sociologist Herbert Kohl wrote a famous essay, ‘Should We Burn Babar?’ arguing the elephant’s kingdom is one of racism and sexism. Laurent de Brunhoff acknowledged some of the early works could be construed as racist and said he declined to reissue an early book, Picnic at Babar’s, for that reason. ‘It was the past. African-American parents do not seem to hold it against me. I often see them with their children at signing sessions,’ he said.”