Product Description

An all-new Babar book with tremendous crossover appeal!

Includes a free pull-out poster!

Following the phenomenal success of Babar's Yoga for Elephants, here is an all-new Babar story. Everyone who loves art, Babar, or children will love Babar's Museum of Art.

The old train station in Celesteville stands empty--should it be torn down? "No!" declare Celeste and Babar, who decide to turn it into an art museum. Their children (like many young museum-goers) have a lot of questions about art: "Does it have to be pretty? Does it have to be old? Does it have to make sense?" Celeste's patient answers explain the basic ideas of art appreciation.

Babar and Celeste's generous donations to the new museum include witty and striking elephant-inspired version of Michelangelo's Creation of Man, George Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, and Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus, along with many other celebrated paintings. Children and adults will want to visit Babar's Museum of Art again and again!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #212010 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 48 pages

Amazon.com
On one of their weekly balloon flights over Celesteville, Babar and Celeste notice that the railroad station is standing empty. Elephants, it seems, now prefer cars over trains. Interestingly, although Babar comments on the roads "jammed with traffic," he and his queen decide to focus on the other issue--the abandoned station. Celeste comes up with an idea to turn it into a museum to house their art collection, and soon an architect is drawing up plans and workers are renovating the building. When the great day of the opening arrives, what a show! The royal couple had acquired some pretty impressive and well known works of art--all featuring elephants, of course. Laurent de Brunhoff outdoes himself with the real-life art-inspired paintings and sculptures, from Mary Cassatt’s "Mother and Child" to Edvard Munch’s "The Scream" to Leonardo da Vinci’s "Mona Lisa." Young art buffs will enjoy the very age-appropriate art appreciation lessons, as the children are encouraged! to say whatever they want about the art: "I like this picture because it’s red," says Arthur about Van Gogh’s "Self-Portrait." When pedantic Cornelius tries to pontificate, Celeste gently hushes him. Includes a free pull-out poster. (Ages 4 to 7) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-With the help of an architect and friends, Babar and Celeste decide to establish a museum in the old Celesteville train station and donate their extensive art collection. Readers follow along as de Brunhoff's lighthearted offering touches on how such institutions might be created, how to behave in a museum, and art appreciation. Celeste's most valuable instructions for small children: "look, don't touch, and tell me what you see" precedes Babar's timely reminder, "there are no rules to tell us what art is." The Celesteville museum exhibits echo noted artworks from Rubens to Cezanne, Whistler to Pollock, as more than 30 major works (imitated with pachyderm subjects) fill the pages. Consider this an introduction to museums for the youngest readers, especially for Babar fans. Older students will find entertaining comparisons to classic art collections. For a closer pairing with masterworks, share Jacqueline Weitzman's You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum (Dial, 1998). A fine choice for all libraries.
Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 2. The elephants of Celesteville are delighted when Babar and Celeste open a magnificent art museum, but the royal children are nervous. What happens at museums? How should they behave? As the family walks through the galleries, each member finds favorite works of art. De Brunhoff's words are simple and unpretentious, and they show how personal and subjective art is: "I like this picture because it's red," says one elephant. The Celesteville Museum's walls are filled with gleeful reproductions of famous works (listed in an appendix) that substitute elephants for human figures to hilarious effect. It's adults, not children, who will howl most over the images, but children certainly don't need a background in art history to be delighted by the stories in the art, and they'll immediately recognize the children's questions: "Does everything have to mean something in a picture?" "Does it have to be pretty?" Babar's reassuring answer sends a universal message of art appreciation: "It doesn't have to be or mean anything. There are no rules to tell us what art is." As entertaining as it is instructive, this is a great choice for museum-bound families as well as teachers. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Art Appreciation for Preschoolers
It's beautiful and teaches kids (and parents) how to appreciate art in a simple way. Lifelong lesson that demystifies art. Love it. It engaged my son since he was 3 and he's 4 and still loves it.

Every child needs this book
The story and illustrations are top-notch. This book is an excellent tool for children learning to appreciate art and artists. Every child should own a copy of this book!

Elephants on Parade
My 4 year old granddaughter loves the book. I enjoyed seeing many famous works of art converted to elephant-views of the world -- a refreshing reframing of the familiar. All ages can benefit from this.