BEIJING, March 4 -- The life and work of French cartoonist Talus Taylor is fondly remembered by China's children of the early 1980s, who grew up with his Barbapapa cartoons, after his death was announced on Monday.

The co-creator of Barbapapa died on Feb. 19 in Paris at the age of 85, but French media did not report the news until Monday.

Barbapapa was produced in the 1970s and China Central Television brought the German TV adaptation in 1988, which to this day remains a hit with preschoolers.

Netizens came over all nostalgic about the multi-colored nine-member family, which channel imagination to transform into different shapes.

"It remains my favorite cartoon, featuring love, peace, kindness, humor and creativity," said Miya Liu Nan on microblog Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter.

Many Internet users posted pictures of candles as an offering of condolence following the news of Taylor's death.

"It reminds me of learning to speak French," said another web user who said his teachers would use the cartoon as a learning aid.

"I will always associate the cartoon with growing up. It has made me happy and laugh, a lot. Thank you Barbapapa for giving me so much joy," wrote another Sina Weibo user.

The death of "the father of Barbapapa", has also inspired many netizens to raise concerns over the quality of domestic cartoons.

Xie Fengbei, the cartoon's Chinese translator, said the educational value in Barbapapa was "thought-provoking."

In one episode, Barbapapa takes his family to other planets as deforestation has destroyed Earth but the family chose to return to Earth to restore it, Xie said.

The episode covered an important topic -- environmental protection -- through an engaging, funny story, according to Xie.

A Chinese version of the Barbapapa cartoon series was published in 2010 and became a best-seller, with more than 3.6 million books sold in China, Beijing Daily reported on Wednesday.