Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-7. There is a new addition to Babar's genteel family; this engaging story introduces Isabelle, an ``amazing baby'' who matures into an independent and intrepid little girl. After recording Isabelle's birth and infancy, the story gets down to its main thrust Isabelle's adventures when she is separated from her family while on a hike in the country. Wandering through the hills, she comes upon a house inhabited by two gentlemen, who invite her in to play. They pass a fine afternoon until Isabelle hears on the television that there is an alert out as to her whereabouts. Hang gliding over hilly terrain, Isabelle's two new friends speed her home, where she's warmly welcomed by her family. While the book's pink covers cater to stereotypical pink-is-for-girls-blue-is-for-boys thinking, little Isabelle is certainly no shrinking violet; her manner and adventures place her squarely in the active heroine mold, and she breathes a bit of fresh air into the studied propriety that is so much a part of Babar's world. DMW. Elephants Fiction / Babies Fiction / Lost children Fiction [CIP] 86-42962
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Beloved King Babar and his Queen Celeste have a new addition to the familylittle Isabelle. This is her story, an account of her birth, cradle days, sitting-at-the-dining-table days, walking days, skating days and then running away. She wanders to Blue Valley, crosses the river to the house on the hill where she is welcomed by two gentleman, Boover and Picardee. But after Isabelle sees her father Babar on TV, pleading for her to come back home, her friends fly her home in their hang gliders. This is like any family storyof more interest to surrounding relatives than the world at large. But some readers will want to meet Isabelle and renew friendship with characters from the other, better Babar stories. Ages 48. (April) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K In recognizable de Brunhoff style, the story of Celeste and Babar's new baby ``girl'' is told in a leisurely and understated manner, typical of tales spun for sleepy children in the nursery. The plot develops slowly, winding through Isabelle's birth, first steps, birthday party, and moves, finally, into an adventure. Isabelle wanders away and ends up in the home of eccentric characters Boover and Picardee for an afternoon of yoga, poker, jazz, and a delightful return flight via hang glider. Children may identify with the exasperation Isabelle's brothers and sister feel in dealing with a new and daring sibling, and may learn something about not wandering off, but there is little else to excite children who aren't already fans of Babar and his family. Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, Wis. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
These are reissues of books by Jean de Brunhoff's son. The stories are more generic, and the art lacks some of the life and dimensionáseen in [cf2]The Story of Babar.[cf1] Even so, theáattractive large-format books will appeal to some fans of theáwell-known elephantáand his extended family. [Review covers [cf2]Babar and the Ghost, Babar and the Wully-Wully,[cf1] and [cf2]Babar's Little Girl[cf1].] From HORN BOOK Spring 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Babar and the serenely pastoral country around Celesteville are back, with a new daughter's early years and misdemeanors. The other elephant children are delighted with Isabelle, the admired youngest in a loving family. After precociously learning to walk, she's the one who engineers the escape of a turtle caught under a hippopotamus. Rescuing a cat is the occasion of her first careless AWOL; chided by bet father, the king. she soon forgets. This time, she wanders further afield, into the Blue Valley, where she meets two debonair but indeterminate animals, named Boover and Picardee, who share a mansion. They spend a day playing together--poker, jazz--but later, when they settle down for TV, they see Babar reporting Isabelle's disappearance. So they take her home, by hang glider, and the siblings don't believe a word of it; but Babar and Celeste welcome her with open arms and no reproaches. If this were the first Babar book, what would we make of it? It's hard to say; perhaps its world, where events may be tragic (the first book caused a controversy because Babar's mother was shot by a hunter), but kindness and order are the norm, would still give pleasure. As another in a well-loved series, it's a welcome restatement of one of childhood's themes in a grand, familiar setting. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
