Short answers, pulled from the story.
Talus Taylor and Annette Tison created the Barbapapa character after a misunderstanding in the Luxembourg Garden in Paris on the 1st of May 1970. The couple drew the pink and round character on a restaurant tablecloth to represent the cotton candy known as Barbe à papa.
The seven children include four sons named Barbabravo in red, Barbabright in blue, Barbazoo in yellow, and Barbabeau in black and furry. The three daughters are Barbalala in green, Barbabelle in purple, and Barbalib in orange.
The first animated series titled Barbapapa aired on French, British, and Dutch TV in 1974 and premiered in Japan three years later in 1977. One hundred five-minute-long episodes spanning two seasons were produced and aired on television.
Harrie Geelen wrote the lyrics for the first Barbapapa theme while Joop Stokkermans composed the music. The Japanese version aired on TV Asahi featured a different theme song composed by Chuuji Kinoshita with lyrics by Zenzo Matsuyama.
Google created a doodle celebrating the 45th anniversary of the publishing of Barbapapa on the 19th of May 2015. This digital tribute also served as a tribute to Talus Taylor.