Babar is a big favorite with my kids, but the book contains some comically outdated ideas about childrearing. Celeste sends Babar out on a bike ride so he'll miss the birth of his children. Later, when Celeste has to give up breastfeeding because of insufficient milk supply, the doctor recommends cow's milk (for elephants?) with honey (guess they hadn't heard of the botulism risk). Once they're slightly older, the children have a series of brushes with death. Flor chokes on her rattle, prompting Celeste to hold her upside down and shake her. (Celeste need a first aid course.) Alexandre gets catapulted out of a runaway stroller, goes over a cliff, and is saved only when he lands in a tree. Pom is saved from crocodile attack and near-drowning by his father, who fends off the crocodile "even though he has no gun." Once out of the water, he is given hot drinks and put to bed under heavy blankets. Presumably one can't be too careful about hypothermia, even in Africa. All in all, an uplifting tale.