The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery (Children's, 9 years +, 8/10E)

15th August 2015, Alma Classics, 112 pages, Paperback, Review copy 

Content: imagination, philosophy 

Summary from Alma Classics

Having crash-landed in the Sahara desert, a pilot comes across a young boy who introduces himself as the “Little Prince” and tells him the story of how he grew up on a tiny asteroid before travelling across the galaxies and coming to Earth. His encounters and discoveries, seen through childlike, innocent eyes, give rise to candid reflections on life and human nature.

First published in 1943 and featuring the author’s own watercolour illustrations, The Little Prince has since become a classic philosophical fable for young and old, as well as a global publishing phenomenon, selling tens of millions of copies worldwide and being translated into dozens of languages. 

Nayu's thoughts  

I've known that The Little Prince is a classic tale since I was little, and that the original is in French, but I've never read it until now. It's quite philosophical, and because I tend to focus on the practical side of illustrations, I found them a bit weird. For example the Prince's planet is mega tiny, and all I could think of was that he had no bathroom, no bedroom, no kitchen etc. I thought the same for most of his neighbours which made me smile a lot at my inability to suspend belief over the story. 

I enjoyed learning about Antoine's life and the reason behind the odd book. I am glad I've read it, I personally wouldn't reread it, but I would recommend it to everyone, who probably would focus more on the characters rather than what the Prince lacked on his planet! It's cool that Antoine illustrated it himself, even if they are odd illustrations. 

Suggested read

A slightly more logical to me but still a bit philosophical read is Cindercast A Tale of Tides by Michael Blackbourn (Children's, 9 years +, 9/10E)