Jean de Brunhoff was born on December 9, 1899 in Montparnasse District, Paris, France. Jean was a writer, known for Jackanory (1965), The Story of Babar (1980) and Babar (1989). Jean was married to Cècile Sabouraud. Jean died on October 16, 1937 in Switzerland.
Babar's birthplace, Chessy, was the de Brunhoff family country
home.
Buried at Le Pere Lachaise (Paris, France)
Sons: Laurent (30 August 1925), Mathieu (28 July 1926), Thierry
(1934).
Taking over for his father, Laurent wrote and illustrated "Babar et ce
Coquin d'Arthur" in 1946 and has been doing Babar books ever since.
Many never realized there was any change in the author and illustrator
of Babar, assuming the ten year gap between books due to World War
II.
It was his wife, Cècile, who invented the story about a little elephant
to amuse Laurent and Mathieu, who were so delighted with the story that
they repeated it to their father. Jean developed the plot and wrote a
book for them.