The children of the house, bored by his piano playing, put the book Histoire de Babar by Jean de Brunhoff on his piano and asked him to "play" the story.
[2] The score is dedicated to the eleven children who inspired it: "For my little cousins Sophie, Sylvie, Benoît, Florence and Delphine Périer; Yvan, Alain, Marie-Christine and Marguerite-Marie Villotte; And my little friends Marthe Bosredon and André Lecœur, in memory of Brive".
It was created in a broadcast on 14 June 1946 played by the composer, assisted by the recitation of Pierre Bernac.
In 1962, Jean Françaix proposed an orchestral version of the piece,[2] which satisfied Poulenc.
[2] The most diverse musical forms succeed each other:[4] A recording of L'Histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant was made in 2012 by Natalie Dessay, narrator and Shani Diluka piano, at éditions Didier Jeunesse [fr].