Babar the Elephant is a fictional character created by Jean de Brunhoff in his 1931 French children's book Histoire de Babar. The story is based on a fairy tale invented by Cecile, Brunhoff's wife, for their children. It is the story of a young elephant (Babar) who is chased by a hunter after the death of his mother by the same hunter. However, Babar manages to escape and, in the process, leaves the jungle and heads towards the city. Later, Babar returns to bring the benefits of civilization to his colleagues, but just as he returns, the king dies and he (Babar) is made king. Babar marries his cousin, Celeste, with whom he has children and teaches them valuable lessons. This story is one that some critics have deemed politically and morally offensive, labeling it as implicitly endorsing inequality and prejudice. Kohl in his book Should We Burn Babar? Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories (1995), addresses issues that transcend children's literature. His work is considered a reflection of his status as a relentlessly passionate advocate for children and progressive educational reform. In his essay, Kohl questions how power is represented in children's literature. “The first and simplest question I would like to ask is: Who has power in Babar?” He questions the message in Babar's popular books by arguing that it matters what children read and that literature has the power to exert an influence on them, which could end up being harmful to them as they grow up. He finds history to be full of inexplicable facts and events. Kohl, for example, questions the origin of the rich lady's wealth. He speculates that his wealth might have had something “to do with hiring hunters to trap and… paper means… documents. However, he points out that criticism of Jean Brunhoff's books can in a sense be separated from the sense of perception. In conclusion, Herbert Kohl in his work Should We Burn Babar? Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories provides a reflection on many uncertainties and contradictions in issues relating to the selection of children's literature. He is aware that no one can ever be certain how a child might react to literature, especially to content that a mature audience might perceive as problematic. On the other hand, Adam Gopnik's argument in his essay Freeing the Elephants: What Babar Brought highlights the different ways of understanding the context in which Jean Brunhoff's Babar books were written. Overall, the arguments of the two writers highlight the different interpretations of the literary material.