The de Brunhoffs recreated a world of comfort and wealth in the Babar books.

There are now more than 30 "Babar" books in print, with yet another to appear this fall.

I read that first Babar book over and over again.

The family will continue to produce Babar books, according to Clifford Ross, who is involved in the deal.

By 1986, millions of Babar books had been sold worldwide.

Mr. de Brunhoff went on to write and illustrate seven Babar books.

The Babar books are among those half-dozen picture books that seem to fix not just a character but a whole way of being, even a civilization.

But the Babar books are more than the sum of their lines.

After all, no lawyers have ever appeared in the Babar books, whether as elephants, rhinos or human beings.

In all, 30 Babar books have been written by the de Brunhoffs.