2004-05-12 Isabella Joins the Babar Family and Has a Great Adventure!

If you are a Babar fan, you know Pom, Flora, and Alexander quite well. In this book, Celeste is about to have a baby. Babar is hoping for a girl, so he will have equal numbers of daughters and sons. When Celeste unexpectedly gives birth under a tree, he gets his wish! The remainder of the story describes Isabella's babyhood and her personality. I enjoyed this first Isabella story, and look forward to hearing more about her in future Babar books.

Isabella brings great pleasure to the royal elephant family. Babar is a proud papa. "Celeste loved to show her off at every opportunity. Pom, Flora, and Alexander were enchanted . . . and so was everyone else."

Everyone agreed Isabella was an "amazing baby." She soon stood in her cradle and hurled her toys at her siblings. She had a hearty appetite and was "full of energy." But she could be very quiet, and would sit peacefully watching a grasshopper (her favorite insect) in the grass.

As an independent child, she began to present challenges. At her fifth birthday party, she went off alone and Babar had to scold her.

A few days later the whole family went for a walk. Isabella had already forgotten about the scolding, and went off to play hide-and-seek with herself. Soon, she was nowhere to be found. Then her great adventure began.

When it was over, cousin Arthur didn't believe a word of her story, even though it was all true. Babar scolded her, and she fell asleep on his large lap. "Our little girl is very special," he said.

This book is excellent for introducing the idea of having a new sibling in a family, and that life will be different than anyone can expect. Parents who are about to have a new offspring should get this book as one of many to help ease the transition.

I also liked the idea that children have unique personalities, and will express those personalities as easily as they breathe. I was glad to see that Isabella was made more distinctive than the other Babar children in this way, who often seem to be a little on the uninteresting side.

The other appeal of this book is how a family adapts and becomes different with each new arrival. That message is carried out in a positive and pleasant way, that is totally credible. Nicely done!

The book is good, too, for reinforcing the idea of getting help from family friends. So if you child is accidentally locked out of the house, it will seem natural to go to the friendly parents of a neighbor child to get the key you have left there. This story should make every child feel more wanted, and part of a wide support network of loving adults and family.

After you finish enjoying this story, I suggest that you ask your child to tell you more about what a family is, what each person in your family is like, and what she or he hopes for from being part of the family. You can use the Babar stories as one point of reference. One good connection here is that the Babars have lots of friends who have relationships with the children. Does your child like or not like that feature? In this way, you can help your child begin to visualize what kind of life he or she will want to build as an adult.

Appreciate the specialness of each person, animal, and plant!