Cécile de Brunhoff 1903–2003
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 4/14/2003
Cécile de Brunhoff, widow of Babar author/illustrator Jean de Brunhoff, died on April 7 at the age of 99.
Cécile created Babar the elephant when she was making up a story to tell to her children. Her husband then wrote down and illustrated the story, which was published in 1931 as The Story of Babar, the original Babar title. Jean had tried to give his wife credit for taking part in the writing of the book, but she had her name removed from the title page before it made its way into print.
Jean de Brunhoff died in 1937. Babar stories continue to be written and illustrated by Laurent de Brunhoff, Cécile and Jean's oldest son.
