Skip to main content

The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry



Brief synopsis (no spoilers)The author, an aviator, crashes with his aeroplane in the middle of the Sahara desert. While he is trying to repair his aeroplane, a little boy appears and asks him to draw a sheep. The author learns that The Little Prince comes from asteroid B-612 where he has left behind three volcanoes and a rose.
Before reaching Earth, he has visited other planets and met some very odd people: a king, a conceited man, a drunkard, a lamplighter, a geographer…  Since arriving on Earth, he has spoken to a fox who has taught him that to know someone or something, you must « tame » them, and that makes them unique. « What is essential is invisible to the eye, says the fox. »
*Spoiler (kind of) below*
In order to return to his planet and his rose, The Little Prince allows himself to be bitten by a poisonous snake: his planet is too far away, he cannot take his « shell ». The aviator, who has succeeded in repairing his plane, also quits the desert. He still hopes The Little Prince will return one day and asks us to write and tell him if ever we should meet his friend. (www.thelittleprince.com)

Category: "If Saint-Exupéry is to be believed The Little Prince is a book for children written for grown-ups. It can be read on many different levels to provide pleasure and food for thought for readers of all ages." (www.thelittleprince.com) 

I had a hard time deciding if I should fill out the kids book summary or an adult book summary, but ultimately I decided because of subject manner I decided it should go in the adult category. 

Why I chose this book: It was on a list of 25 books everyone should read. 

My personal opinion (the review): I thought this book was stupid. It tried to be a moral tale about how adults are too serious and focus on the wrong things, but for me it really missed the point. I only finished it because it was short and because I kept hoping it would get better. Maybe, as the book would suggest, I'm one of the grown ups who will never "understand how such a thing could be so important." 

Warnings: None

Movie rating equivalent: PG

Protagonist description: The Little Prince comes from a different planet (an asteroid actually). He comes to earth on his journey of visiting different planets. As he visits these different planets he often says, "Grown-ups are so strange" because he doesn't understand why the characters are doing what they do. He mostly annoyed me as a character. 

Point of view of story: Third Person

Book length: Short

Story flow: Fluid

Grammar and spelling issues: None, but it was easy to tell it was translated from French into English.

Character connection (no spoilers) None. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

Summary: Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: Perfect for my three year old. I would say that ages 2-10 would really enjoy something like this. It really keeps kids engaged and makes them feel like part of the story. There is one word to one sentence per page. Good uses for book in teaching: Interaction, that the reader takes part in making the story, what a tree can do (leaves, blossoms, fruit) Favorite part:      Child: The fact that ...

Improbable Libraries Alex Johnson

Concept: " A visual journey to the world's most unusual libraries." Author : Alex Johnson, a journalist and consultant . Both parents were librarians.  Monologue score  (1-10) (how entertaining): 8 - Overall I found this book quite interesting. I loved seeing all the ways that people were working to bring books into the community and how many were trying to create a sense of community through books. The pictures did a great job of helping to visualize how these libraries are being used.  Difficulty level: 3- Not very hard. Each of the seven sections (Libraries on the Move, Animal Libraries,Tiny Libraries, Big Libraries, Home Libraries, Mobile Libraries, and Not Libraries) starts with a short introduction and then gives a picture (or three) of the library described.  What I Learned/Review:  I really found this to be an enlightening and uplifting book. Having been a librarian and having a love for books in general it warms my heart to see all the ways that ...

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) The series continues. The Loriens increase in strength and number, and more of their powers develop. Number Six is unstoppable! And numbers Seven, Nine, and Ten join the group, with number Four. The bad guys get worse- those that don't get wiped out! Category Sci-Fi, Fantasy Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) With the last book, the superhuman/alien aspect seemed almost believable. John and Henri were fallible and almost fragile. With this book, Six is completely unbeatable, so it's losing credibility. Rather, I'm able to separate my imagination from it, not dive in so deeply. Still a great book, but it could have used a bit of realism or a bit of failure, maybe. Warnings Violence: plentiful, and some pretty descriptive Language: rare and pretty mild Death: yes, and of several major characters "Adult" situations: teen love and some kissing, but nothing uncomfortable Movie rating...