Babar's Museum of Art

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