Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The release of the film The Little Prince, adapted from the masterpiece by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and produced by Mark Osborne, offers a publisher the chance to shed new light on this universal work. The delicate stop-motion animation used in the feature film, created by cutting and animating pieces of paper, sets the stage for a poetic re-reading of this timeless classic. Both young and old are able to relate to the story of the little prince and discover for themselves that “the only way to see is with one’s heart.”

Unabridged Original Text

The Little Prince Family Storybook

Élise

Look at it carefully so that you you wil be sure to recognize it in case you travel some day to the African desert. And, if you should come upon this spot, please do not hurry on. Wait for a time, exactly under the star. Then, if a little man appears who laughs, who has golden hair and who refuses to answer questions, you will know who he is. If this should happen, please comfort me. Send me word that he has come back.

“The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen…”

“The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen.”

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”

“You are beautiful, but you are empty.”

“Do me this kindness. Admire me just the same.”

“If someone loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars.”

“The flowers have been growing thorns for millions of years. For millions of years the sheep have been eating them just the same. And is it not a matter of consequence to try to understand why the flowers go to so much trouble to grow thorns which are never of any use to them?  

Toto

Raag Sudha

This children's classic that's supposedly not for children but oh so hard hitting for adults has been highly raved about and I've been wanting to finish reading it for about 7 years at this point I kid you not. It is such a short book but it was honestly so hard to finish reading it because I was just uninvested and uninterested, which is why it took me literally 7 years of picking it up and putting it down to finally be able to say that I finished the book. 

This book takes the form of allegories, parables and fables set in absurd and whimsical landscapes that's supposed to reflect the innocence of childhood and the complexities of life... Maybe I'm too uncouth and unintelligent for this book but I did not get it and I did not get along well with this book. I felt like a lot of the metaphors did not track and at some point I really felt like the book / writing was being deep for the sake of being deep. I do feel bad for saying this, knowing that the author was a pilot who was stranded in plane crashes multiple times, which explains the premise of the book... But even the fact that this author pilot dude died about a year after writing this book was not quite enough for me to like this book. To be completely honest, maybe he should have stuck to learning how to fly planes better instead of writing books. Then maybe he would have been stranded less... 

But yknow what guys maybe I'm the problem here haha. Maybe I'm the drama tbh because maybe this book simply is a reflection of the reader's reminiscence of their childhood. Maybe this book is meant to dig deep and uncover the reader's relationship with their own inner child. Maybe the little prince is inside all of us, with its innocence and naivety. If that's the case then well yes, that would explain why I did not really enjoy the book. I never really resounded with the innocence and simplicity of childhood and maybe that's something I myself should be working on, to reconnect with my inner child and rediscover that simplicity. 

Ok tangential line of thought aside, I think the book overall was kind of clumsy and all over the place but there were a few nuggets and excerpts here and there that were rather cute. I liked the part where the fox talked about taming and rites, and I also liked the life lesson of looking with the heart rather than the eyes. I'll put some quotes here that I liked for posterity's sake, and also for the sake of never having to read this book ever again lol. 

"What does tamed mean?"
"It's something that's been too often neglected. It means, 'to create ties'..."
"To create ties?"
"That's right," the fox said. "For me you're only a little boy just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you have no need of me, either." For you I'm only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, we'll need each other. You'll be the only boy in the world for me. I'll be the only fox in the world for you..."
-
"The only things you learn are the things you tame," said the fox.
- 
"What's a rite?"
"That's another thing that's been too often neglected," said the fox. "It's the fact that one day is different from other days, one hour from the other hours."

--- 

"Good-bye," said the fox. "Here is my secret. It's quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." 
"It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important."
"You become responsible forever for what you have tamed."


Carla Aquino

😭 how can someone not love this...it’s so poetic and beautiful. I can truly see myself rereading this over and over. 

“Here is my secret. It’s quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”..............”People have forgotten this truth,” said the fox. “But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed.”

We were all children once. It’s hard for us to understand this as adults.

The Little Prince Family Storybook Unabridged Original Text

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