Authors

Laurent de Brunhoff

Illustrator Laurent de Brunhoff (1925-2024) was the son of Babar creator Jean de Brunhoff. He was an accomplished artist and a worthy heir to the legacy his father began in 1931. Laurent originated dozens of Babar books over 60 years, including the New York Times bestselling Babar and the Succotash Bird, Babar’s Museum of Art, and Babar’s Yoga for Elephants, among many others. Babar was called by the New York Times a “beloved storybook character,” was praised by Where the Wild Things Are creator Maurice Sendak as “at the very heart of my conception of what turns a picture book into a work of art,” was featured in USA TODAY, which said, “Few series have had such enduring appeal to young readers,” and was cited in The New Yorker, which wrote, “There are a few parents who haven’t tried the Babar books, and the rare small child who doesn’t like, or even love them.”