Evaluation
Due to its smaller size and the illustrations, The Little Prince was viewed primarily as a children’s book. Even Reynal & Hitchcock intended for The Little Prince to be a children's book. Many reviewers, however, thought that the content was more suitable for adults, as children wouldn’t understand the complex meanings and morals portrayed in the book. Many reviewers thought of this book as a “fairy tale for adults” and not a whimsical book for children. When it was first published, The Little Prince did not gain much press--but got outstanding reviews in the press that it did receive--and was not an immediate best-seller, despite becoming one of the best-selling books of all time many years in the future.
With each new interpretation of The Little Prince in English, reviews have tended to stray from the “adult fairy tale” viewpoint in favor of the “whimsical” and “enchanting” story for children. Two examples are as follows:
Many reviews of The Little Prince--ranging from 1945 to the most recent reviews--focus on two things: the illustrations--their whimsical value--and whether the book is more suited for adults or children. Often, reviews such as those found by customers on Amazon.com--where the customer rating is 4.4 out of 5 stars from 664 reviews--say that this book can be enjoyed thoroughly by both children and adults.
If anything, The Little Prince has transformed into a book that could be deemed a learning resource for adults. In 2002, A Guide for Grown-ups: Essential Wisdom from the Collected Works of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was published by Harcourt Children’s Books. To this day, many people think of The Little Prince as a child’s view of the world, simplified and practical and full of wisdom. This book has served many readers in that they rethink how they are living their lives. Maria Konnikova explores how differently people think when given instruction. Two groups of college students were given a prompt to write about. One group got the following prompt: "Imagine school is cancelled for today. What would you do, think, and feel?" The second group had the same prompt, but with one extra sentence: "You are seven years old." Believe it or not, the group that was given the "seven year old" prompt had more original and more creative responses. Konnikova chalks it up to children being "remarkably aware" of their surroundings and experiences (Konnikova). Even though I didn't read The Little Prince as a child, reading it now makes me feel like a child because of the intimate connection between the reader and the little prince. He gives so much wisdom and doesn't make things complicated as the average adult might be prone to do (inadvertently, even).
My first experience with The Little Prince was in my 200-level French class during my freshman year of college. It was the first full book that I read completely in French. It is a common practice to present this book to intermediate French learners in order to improve their French reading skills and beginning translation skills due to its simple vocabulary and short length (in comparison to books read in higher-level classes). At the time, I was more concerned with my translation and proper understanding of the book than I was about the child-like qualities and the illustrations. In retrospect, this demonstrates that I could be seen as one of the grandes personnes (big people) in the book. If I may be so frank, I would compare myself as a reader to the lamplighter, who is going through the motions and following orders, thinking not of himself, but of the task which has been set before him. I will admit that I am still the lamplighter when I read texts in French; I like to know the full meaning of what I read and, as French is not my native language, it is more difficult to read it for pleasure without, at first, dealing with the task at hand. However, when I read in English, I tend to "lose myself" in a book and specifically try not to delve into the deeper meanings so that I can appreciate the book at face value. The reason I came back to The Little Prince these few years later is because I feel a sense of accomplishment when thinking of this book: it was the first full book I read in French. It was fantastical then, and it remains the same for me today.
I think the morals presented in this story are ones that were important prior to The Little Prince being written, they were relevant when it was published, and they remain relevant today. Love and friendship are two of the most redeeming and gratifying characteristics that can be shared between two people or things. In addition to the moral aspects of the story, the illustrations are whimsical and child-friendly (as they are watercolor illustrations) and the text doesn't contain anything (from my point of view) that would date the book or make it irrelevant.
With each new interpretation of The Little Prince in English, reviews have tended to stray from the “adult fairy tale” viewpoint in favor of the “whimsical” and “enchanting” story for children. Two examples are as follows:
- In the March 15, 2011 issue of Booklist, Ian Chipman listed Joann Sfar’s new graphic novel adaptation of The Little Prince as one of the Top 10 graphic novels for youth from the previous year.
- In 2009, Houghton released a Deluxe Pop-Up version of The Little Prince to positive reviews. Gillian Engberg says that the 3-D form of this book “add[s] whimsy” to the already-whimsical illustrations.
Many reviews of The Little Prince--ranging from 1945 to the most recent reviews--focus on two things: the illustrations--their whimsical value--and whether the book is more suited for adults or children. Often, reviews such as those found by customers on Amazon.com--where the customer rating is 4.4 out of 5 stars from 664 reviews--say that this book can be enjoyed thoroughly by both children and adults.
If anything, The Little Prince has transformed into a book that could be deemed a learning resource for adults. In 2002, A Guide for Grown-ups: Essential Wisdom from the Collected Works of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was published by Harcourt Children’s Books. To this day, many people think of The Little Prince as a child’s view of the world, simplified and practical and full of wisdom. This book has served many readers in that they rethink how they are living their lives. Maria Konnikova explores how differently people think when given instruction. Two groups of college students were given a prompt to write about. One group got the following prompt: "Imagine school is cancelled for today. What would you do, think, and feel?" The second group had the same prompt, but with one extra sentence: "You are seven years old." Believe it or not, the group that was given the "seven year old" prompt had more original and more creative responses. Konnikova chalks it up to children being "remarkably aware" of their surroundings and experiences (Konnikova). Even though I didn't read The Little Prince as a child, reading it now makes me feel like a child because of the intimate connection between the reader and the little prince. He gives so much wisdom and doesn't make things complicated as the average adult might be prone to do (inadvertently, even).
My first experience with The Little Prince was in my 200-level French class during my freshman year of college. It was the first full book that I read completely in French. It is a common practice to present this book to intermediate French learners in order to improve their French reading skills and beginning translation skills due to its simple vocabulary and short length (in comparison to books read in higher-level classes). At the time, I was more concerned with my translation and proper understanding of the book than I was about the child-like qualities and the illustrations. In retrospect, this demonstrates that I could be seen as one of the grandes personnes (big people) in the book. If I may be so frank, I would compare myself as a reader to the lamplighter, who is going through the motions and following orders, thinking not of himself, but of the task which has been set before him. I will admit that I am still the lamplighter when I read texts in French; I like to know the full meaning of what I read and, as French is not my native language, it is more difficult to read it for pleasure without, at first, dealing with the task at hand. However, when I read in English, I tend to "lose myself" in a book and specifically try not to delve into the deeper meanings so that I can appreciate the book at face value. The reason I came back to The Little Prince these few years later is because I feel a sense of accomplishment when thinking of this book: it was the first full book I read in French. It was fantastical then, and it remains the same for me today.
I think the morals presented in this story are ones that were important prior to The Little Prince being written, they were relevant when it was published, and they remain relevant today. Love and friendship are two of the most redeeming and gratifying characteristics that can be shared between two people or things. In addition to the moral aspects of the story, the illustrations are whimsical and child-friendly (as they are watercolor illustrations) and the text doesn't contain anything (from my point of view) that would date the book or make it irrelevant.
Resources:
- Chipman, Ian. "Top 10 graphic novels for youth." Booklist 15 Mar. 2011: 44. Academic OneFile. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA252847337&v=2.1&u=uiuc_uc&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w>.
- Engberg, Gillian. "The Little Prince: Deluxe Pop-Up Book." Booklist 15 Dec. 2009: 42. Academic OneFile. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA215115711&v=2.1&u=uiuc_uc&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w>.
- Konnikova, Maria. "The Big Lesson of a Little Prince: (Re)capture the Creativity of Childhood." Scientific American. Scientific American, Inc. 18 Mar. 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/literally-psyched/2012/03/18/the-big-lesson-of-a-little-prince-recapture-the-creativity-of-childhood/>.
This website was created by Kristin Unruh as a project for LIS514A: History of Children's Literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Fall 2012 Semester.