I had not really planned to share the Babar books with my child as I thought of them as being outdated and a bit too depressing for today's kids. However, my son heard about Babar somewhere and was curious so we got Babar the King and The Story of Babar from the library. He could take or leave The Story of Babar but found Babar the King absolutely captivating. The pictures are fabulously detailed and sometimes humorous. The story focuses on the building of Celesteville and the activities of the elephants--going to school, swimming in the lake, celebrating their town, etc. The explanation of all the different occupations of the elephants is very interesting to my nearly 6 year old. There are also some funny parts and a nice message about focusing on the positive at the end. While it doesn't have a traditional plot, it is quite an enjoyable read. It is pretty long, it generally takes us about 25 minutes to read the whole thing. It does have a little drama as well--the Old Lady is bit by a snake and Cornelius's house catches on fire and he is injured so keep that in mind if selecting this for a younger or more sensitive child.