Babar's Museum of Art

Product Description An all-new Babar book with tremendous crossover appeal! Following the phenomenal success of Babar's Yoga for Elephants, here is an all-new Babar story—one with even broader reach. 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 museumgoers) 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 versions of Michelangelo's Creation of Man, Georges 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! F&P level: M Amazon.com Review 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, TXCopyright 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 gleef