![]() ![]() Even without the images, the story survives its translation to the stage. For the adult reader, the story is a complex mix of fairy tale and Dadaesque events and thus was well suited for a performance piece. Of all the books to choose from, I decided upon the first book by Jean de Brunhoff: The Story of Babar, published in 1933. Fascinating to the young listener, the older and cynical reader finds much that is funny, disturbing and telling of who we were as a culture when these books were first drawn. In two of the most famous children's book series: Curious George and Babar the Elephant, much can be read and seen about the Eurocentric view of the world in the mid 30's. These hand drawn books, both charming and somewhat quaint, also spoke clearly of many early 20 th century concerns: the new “modern” technology, the redefining of roles within family and society and European colonialism. ![]() Of the large library of children's books I was most fascinated by those written between the two World Wars. My sons were just turning three and reading stories occupied a great deal of our time together. Story Time was commissioned by Vancouver ProMusica in the Spring of 1997. ![]()
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