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The Little Prince
- By Antoine de Saint-Exupery
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Gorgeous classic in flawed new translation.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that the Little Prince, a young child, allows himself to be bitten by a poisonous snake in order to return to his planet. While the author takes some pains to make it clear that he has not died, it could be taken by some as a death by suicide, and might disturb some children.
What's the story?
A pilot crashes in the Sahara Desert. A thousand miles from any habitation, while attempting to fix his plane, he meets a strangely dressed little boy who seems to have come from nowhere, and who demands that he draw a sheep. "When a mystery is too overpowering, one dare not disobey," so the pilot attempts to draw a sheep.
Gradually the Little Prince reveals his story. He comes from a small asteroid, where he lives alone until a rose grows there. But the rose is demanding, and he is confused by his feelings about her. Eventually he decides to leave, and journey to other planets in search of knowledge. After meeting many confusing adults, he eventually lands on Earth, where he befriends a snake and a fox. The fox helps him to understand the rose, and the snake offers to help him return to his planet -- but at a price.
Is it any good?
This most beautiful and thoughtful of children's classics really isn't for kids. It looks like a picture book, with its size, brevity, and the author's delicate watercolors, but its thoughtfulness and nostalgia for childhood appeal more to teens and adults. Nevertheless, curled up with the right adult, kids with the patience can find their introduction to its kindly philosophy one of their most vivid moments in childhood.
It was originally translated from the French by Katherine Woods. In Harcourt's updated edition, the art is marginally brighter, but the new translation adds nothing and takes away all the poetry of the original. It's much like comparing the King James with modern translations of the Bible: The differences are minor (more contractions, simpler words, changed order), but they destroy the rhythm and sap the beauty of the language. The older translation is still available in used bookstores and online.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the kindly philosophy of this classic tale. Pick any of the now famous lines and ask you kids what they think it means: "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." "The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen."
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AGE
An especially beautiful literary expression of suicide
An especially beautiful literary expression of suicide.
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Kid, 11 years old
October 29, 2011
AGE
A beautiful classic readers are bound to love.
This book was a true gem.Beautifully written and the drawings wake up your imagination.
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| Author: | Antoine de Saint-Exupery |
| Illustrator: | Antoine de Saint-Exupery |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Harcourt Brace |
| Publication date: | December 31, 1969 |
| Number of pages: | 96 |
| Hardcover price: | $18.00 |
| Paperback price: | $10.00 |
| Read aloud: | 6 |
| Read alone: | 8 |
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