Here is a lovely interview with Laurent de Brunhof about the origins of Babar and the latest book in the series.  Yoga for Elephants!

 http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/08/1…

Below you will find a link to my favorite analysis of the Babar stories:  Adam Gopnik reads the first installment in the series as an allegory of French colonialism and its “civilizing” effects.

 http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/…