The Little Prince (Wordsworth Children's Classics) (Wordsworth Collection)

Aug. 2014 – July 2019 Many times I have tried to use amazon stars differently with different editions, and to correct the number of stars to match the edition under which this review is posted, but amazon still cannot handle that and gives the wrong number of stars to the wrong editions. So let's counter this right off the bat and move my ratings to the top of the page. The ISBNs, for ease of finding a particular book, are listed here as the publishers have listed them. Le Petit Prince (Harcourt hardcover; ISBN 0-15-243818-1): 5 stars English translations to date: Wakeman/Foreman (Pavilion hardcover; ISBN 9 781857 932881): 4.5 stars Woods (Harcourt hardcover; ISBN 0 15 246503 0): 4.5 stars Woods (Egmont hardcover; ISBN 978 1 4052 1634 0): 4.5 stars Woods (Egmont softcover; ISBN 978 1 4052 8819 4): 4.5 stars Howard Pop-up version (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover; ISBN 978 0 544 65649 9): 4 stars Howard (HMH hardcover; ISBN 0 15 202398 4): 2.5 stars Morpurgo (Penguin hardcover; ISBN 9781784874179): 2.0 stars Schwartz (Collectors hardcover; ISBN 978 1 907360 37 4): 1 star Testot-Ferry (Wordsworth): 1 star Cuffe (Penguin): ? Amazon Kindle Edition: 1 star: unlisted unknown translator. Very poor English; very poor translation. In 2000, the Richard Howard translation of The Little Prince was released in the U.S. to supercede the original of Katherine Woods from 1943. When a publisher comes to one to translate such a classic how does one ever turn them down and say the last translation was good enough? One doesn't. Money and ego prevail. But `good enough' is the debating point. Is it good enough? Howard writes in his preface "...it must be acknowledged that all translations date." Do they? Would one clean up and modernise the language of A.A. Milne in Winnie-the-Pooh? or of Kenneth Grahame in the Wind In The Willows? Of course not. Then Howard modernises Katherine Woods' rendition, ‘cry’ with his ‘weep’ during the departure from the fox. And he thinks this is more `modern?' What self-contradictory nonsense translators write to justify themselves and their publishers. I grew up on Katherine Woods's translation and far prefer it over the Howard, but I must admit, when I look at my French copy, the Woods too has some elisions in translation. During the farewell from the fox, she translates: ‘It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.’ Howard translates: ‘It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.’ The French actually states: "C'est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta rose qui fait ta rose si importante." Literally this translates far more meaningfully than either as ‘It is the time which you have lost for your rose which makes your rose so important.’ So that leaves me thinking both translations have their flaws. I am not sure why both of them would dilute the original like they have, for it has surely been diluted from what Saint-Exupery wrote and intended. The Woods translation is close to Saint-Exupery, but I think he chose "perdu pour" for a reason; he did not write "passé," or any other verb. "Perdu pour" brings a whole other layer of meaning. As one learns, hopefully, as we age, our time is limited. When we do one thing over another, we have ‘lost’ that time, never to be re-gained, to do something else in our time-limited lives. That loss, inherent in any human choice, is what makes those things we choose so special and why yet, they can be so bittersweet, hard to understand, fraught with conflicting feelings or regrets, as well as with happiness. There is another translation, from Alan Wakeman, 1995, illustrated from Saint-Exupery by Michael Foreman. Foreman is one of my favourite illustrators and I have many of his books. He works in beautiful watercolours. When it arrived, as I read Wakeman’s preface, I realized that I was in for something special. Wakeman started translating in 1979, not under contract to anyone, but simply because he was not satisfied with the Katherine Woods translation. He worked in his favourite retreat by the sea, overlooking the Golfe de Giens, which, it turned out, from the beginning of discoveries of plane wreckage in the sea in the mid 1990s, to overlook the crash area where Saint-Exupery was lost in 1944. It took a decade or so to confirm that this area is where Saint-Exupery went down, but Wakeman was apparently eerily in touch with something from Saint-Exupery through their labours of love. Wakeman's translation is pretty accurate (see the detailed comparisons further down), but he too has his quirks. He translates "blé," the colour of the Little Prince's hair, as ‘corn.’ Technically correct, but an odd choice usually considered much more a secondary meaning to the more common one of ‘wheat,’ especially in America. To me Wakeman’s quirky translation here, I find rather a clash, or a break, in the lovely flow Saint-Exupery spent so much time and talent composing, and editing, to create his original work and I think this Wakeman version deserves far more widespread availability, circulation, and sales than it has had. Foreman's illustrations are at least half of what is very special about the Wakeman translation. All of the Saint-Exupery illustrations used, which is most of them (there are illustrations Saint-Exupery too did not include), have been re-worked. The line work and watercolour are far more skilful than Saint-Exupery, but extraordinarily faithful, and retain that childlike naiveté. Also, all drawings have been given color, which brings a satisfaction absent from some, even in the original publication, where for example, I have been sorely tempted to pull out my own paint box for the Little Prince watching the sunset. This drawing is clearly a watercolour originally, but has almost always been published in black and white (why?) except in the pop-up edition. Foreman shows all the drawings in beautiful watercolour. Where Foreman has really excelled is in introducing 8 exceptional full page or double page paintings of the Little Prince and the pilot: one comforting the Little Prince when he was sad; one walking to find water with the Little Prince in his arms; one sharing his drawings with the Little Prince; one running with his revolver to kill the snake if he could... whole new enhancements to the story, bringing the relationship more forward than it was, not just story-telling about the Little Prince. For it is not just the story of a special individual, but also one of special relationships, and the special place in our lives they have, and the time we lose on them that makes them special. Another translation, by Ros and Chloe Schwartz, 2011, is from the Collectors Library. First of all, the illustrations are anything but ‘sensitively rendered’ as its publicity blurb asserts. The colors have been filled in by another artist like old cellular film animation, and are just flat, losing Saint-Exupery's delicate drawing and watercolour washes. The hunter has had circles drawn completely around his eyes making him look like a goth caricature. The drawing of the fox in his lair has completely lost all the grass that was so delicately drawn by Saint-Exupery. The beautiful sense of all his drawings, that they flowed, without borders, right off the page, conveying their own meaningful addition to this borderless story, has been lost by the illustrator putting boxes around many drawings that don't originally have any: the boa constrictor; the sheep. The baobab trees and the weeding of Asteroid B-612 are set against the dark background of space, not the daylight of the originals. The tiger no longer looks fearsome, but like a cute questioning pussycat, its line-work tampered with as it has been on most. This illustration tampering is reason alone not to buy this book. The Schwartz translation has a third perspective on the French, but still, for example, loses the quote from the fox. "Perdu pour" is translated again as ‘spent.’ Then these translators do things so blatantly wrong, like alter his word "mouton" into ‘little lamb.’ If Saint-Exupery had meant ‘little lamb’ he would have written "petit agneau" but he didn't. The Little Prince wanted a sheep. The Schwartz’s edition itself is charming: purse-size, hardcover, with gilt page edges and a ribbon marker. Full marks for book design, but otherwise... I would avoid this edition. I have also discovered enough of the Irene Testot-Ferry translation (from Wordsworth) on the amazon "read inside" feature to render an opinion on it too. Cumbersome. Archaic, and not in a good way like the Katherine Woods. Also, all the drawings in the Testot-Ferry edition are the most abysmal black and white hack reproductions. I recommend avoiding this translation despite its bargain basement price. In this case, you get what you pay for. There are a few key phrases and concepts which can be considered to help make one’s choice of translation. In chapter 1 the pilot explains “J’ai vole un peu, partout dans le monde,” which translates very simply as ‘I have flown a little, around the world. Woods translates: ‘I have flown, a little, over all parts of the world.’ Howard translates: ‘I have flown almost everywhere in the world.’ Wakeman translates: ‘I’ve flown all over the world.’ The Schwartzs translate: ‘I’ve flown all over the world,’ (both leaving out ‘a little’ entirely). This phrase is important to me because I think it establishes (on page 2) the modesty of the pilot. He hasn’t flown everywhere, or ‘all’ over the world (as Saint-Exupery did not either, in a day when flying was very exotic and glamorous and it often went to pilots’ heads). And while translating for the colloquialism is perhaps technically correct, it loses the modesty I think the original intended. Woods and Howard can sort of be read with some modesty here (although it’s a stretch); the others cannot at all. Also in chapter 1 for "J'ai ainsi eu, au cours de ma vie, des tas de contacts avec des tas de gens serieux." which translates simply as ‘I have had, through the course of my life, lots of contact, with lots of serious people.’ Woods translates: ‘In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence.’ Wakeman translates: ‘In the course of this life I have had lots of contact with lots of serious people.’ Howard translates: ‘So I have had, in the course of my life, lots of encounters with lots of serious people.’ The Schwartzs translate: ‘Over the years I have met lots of sensible people and have spent a lot of time living in the world of grown-ups.’ Testot-Ferry translates: "As a result of which I have been in touch, throughout my life, with all kinds of serious people." The simplicity of Wakeman prevails here for me. Woods is lovely, a bit archaic, and she echoes the false importance of grown-ups ‘matters of consequence’ which comes up throughout the book; a nice touch. In the geographer chapter, Saint-Exupery explains "ephemeral" as "qui est menace de disparition prochaine," "something threatened to disappear soon." Woods translates this as: ‘which is in danger of speedy disappearance.’ Wakeman: ‘doomed to disappear soon.’ Howard translates as: ‘which is threatened by imminent disappearance.’ The Schwartzs translate this phrase as ‘likely to die very soon.’ None of them quite right I think, and the Schwartzs way off. I prefer the Wakeman, the Woods, or the Howard, in that order, in this case. Wakeman gets the simplicity, where the others in descending order have not really captured Saint-Exupery's subtlety. I take away from this that Testot-Ferry, the Schwartzs, and Howard don't have the soul of poets or philosophers ideally necessary for translating The Little Prince. They have an odd sense of meaning and a lack of subtlety. They add their own quirky complexities and archaic words as modern updates when they aren’t. They also don’t have just the workman-like craft, to simply translate what is there. I don’t find their approach an improvement of Katherine Woods or a service to The Little Prince. These editions really didn’t need to be done. Another translation which has come on the scene, 2018, is by Michael Morpurgo, the author of War Horse, and author and translator of many other childrens’ books. His preface about the translation indicates his modesty and respect for the art and difficulty of translation, an excellent beginning in and of itself. However, he has approached phrases putting in words that are not there and leaving out ones that he simply finds too difficult for some reason. "J'ai ainsi eu, au cours de ma vie, des tas de contacts avec des tas de gens serieux.” he renders as “In my lifetime of flying round the world I have met lots of interesting people. Two things wrong here. He has added words that are not there in Saint-Exupery’s French (“flying round the world”) and he has completely missed the meaning, contradicted the meaning actually, of what Saint-Exupery intended. Saint-Exupery, or the pilot, did not find these people interesting; he called them “serious people” and he makes it clear that they are the adults who have lost something of themselves and just don’t really get it. They are not ‘interesting,’ they are ‘serious’ in a not-very-good way. Also he translates Saint Exupery's 'ephemeral' as 'in danger of sooner or later disappearing.' Saint Exupery does not write 'sooner or later;' "prochaine" is 'sooner’ (rather than later). Another reason to avoid this translation is in regard to the ‘lost time’ phrase. Morpurgo translates it as “It is the time you gave to your rose that makes her so important to you.” Yes, but again not the word Saint-Exupery used: "perdu," so there are no real other layers of meaning as Saint-Exupery intended in choosing the words he did. There are other examples of why not to select this version, but simply, Morpurgo is helping the world and The Little Prince dumb down. It deserves better. Also the colour illustrations are not very carefully printed. The colours of many, especially later in the book, are quite flat. So, the recommendations are, buy the best available: the Woods edition, along with the Wakeman are head and shoulders above the rest. These two are far more evocative than the others of what was intended and are far more layered in meaning which such a classic piece of literature deserves. Each have their merits and only slight shortcomings. The Foreman illustrations with the Wakeman translation I think makes it rather special. The Woods translation Harcourt hardcover can be harder to find in the U.S. The small paperback (1970 or 1971) is quite small-sized, has no colour illustrations and is not worth buying. This is more likely why it slowed in sales in the U.S., not the Woods translation, and Harcourt misinterpreted, and in their poor judgement, commissioned Howard for a new translation. Other Woods editions in the U.S. I would be wary of the printing. In Britain, the Woods translation is readily available. I have a lovely Egmont 2017 trade-size softcover edition. The Egmont hardcover with a blue background looks like the Howard translation so try and contact the bookseller to verify. There is an Egmont Woods hardcover, consequently I have added the ISBNs to this review. The Wakeman/Foreman collaboration hardcover can still be found, but more and more is an expensive collectors item. I cannot vouch for the paperback version, publications of which often get cheap and sometimes are done with black and white illustrations only and very poorly, like the Katherine Woods U.S. paperback and the Testot-Ferry edition. The illustration quality is good in the hardcover Woods, excellent in the Wakeman/Foreman. The artwork in the pop-up book is exceptional and worth getting as a second copy despite being the Howard translation. The Howard translation, both hardcover and softcover (blue cover), with colour illustrations and some black and white, is easily available in the U.S. at a quite reasonable price, but I think is a mediocre translation. The Schwartz translation is also very mediocre. The Morpurgo edition is available (although the amazon listing again is full of mistakes: my hardcover edition is 85 pages long not 96) and it is just not an improvement over the Woods and the Wakeman or even the Howard. As one can tell, I have tried to be somewhat thorough-going in reviewing editions of The Little Prince, so I have looked at the pop-up book too. The details of it take this review over amazon’s 20k word limit (and this is already getting too long) so I have a more detailed review of it under that edition. Briefly its 25-ish pop-ups are exceptional and worth owning, despite it being the not-very-desirable Howard translation. If your French is alright, get a French version too. It is worth working through Le Petit Prince. You will learn more about life and different cultures and how language relates, than in many weightier, more adult tomes, and our children will too from this timeless story with so many layers and such depth in its simplicity. And the colour of the illustrations in my Harcourt French hardcover edition (1971) are far and away the best colour of all editions. P.S. A comment prompted this post script: I was informed there is a translation by T.V.F. Cuffe from Penguin, 1995. The Cuffe translation appears to be rather rare. The 2018 Morpurgo translation is from Penguin-Vintage-Random House, and is Penguin’s new edition, so the Cuffe edition seems bound to become ‘ephemeral.’ Perhaps, this says all we need to know about it. The Wakeman edition is becoming a rarity, sadly. The reason for this is that The Little Prince fell out of copyright in England after fifty years, so Penguin and Pavillion, anticipating this, did the Cuffe version and the Wakeman version respectively. What they didn’t anticipate was that later in 1995 the UK harmonized its copyright law with the EU where copyright is 70 years from the death of the author, not 50 years from the date of publication, and Saint-Exupery is allowed an additional 30 years due to his premature death in exceptional service to his nation during the war. The Little Prince, like a handful of other titles, fell back into copyright in the EU. Hence The Little Prince will not now fall out of copyright in the EU until 2045. This means, alas, likely no Folio Society edition or any other UK or European edition without the agreement of Saint-Exupery’s surviving family on Consuelo’s side, to whom he bequeathed the copyright, for she is of course the rose whom the Little Prince found impossible to live with and left, but loved nonetheless. In the U.S. of course, they do their own thing, hence the Howard translation in 2000. Additionally, as I understand it, there are some differences among the family. Saint-Exupery’s birth family apparently approved of the Wakeman translation, but Saint-Exupery’s wife Consuelo (and now her family), owning the copyright, would have a pretty strict and exclusive agreement with Harcourt, now Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, in North America. Why would they not, for this incredible money-maker that most publishers would love a piece of, apparently the second most-printed book in the world? The Katherine Woods hardcover and trade paperback versions are still available through amazon.com, amazon.ca, amazon.uk, or Abe Books, and are thankfully not entirely in HMH’s taste and control. Perhaps, after Brexit, the Wakeman edition may become readily available again too. That would be a treat for all Saint-Exupery and Michael Foreman fans. And maybe an ideal translation (if there is such a thing with living breathing languages) will come out in the future.

Shipping was fast, nice book and illustrations— EXCEPT for the fact that the white square around the picture COVERS the WORDS! Very BAD graphic designer, my son could not read the book as he was assigned! At least they refunded it, no questions, and no need to mail it back.

I bought the cheapo kindle version and the translation is terrible. I think this is another instance of a plagiarized book on Amazon. Surely a legitimate translation couldn’t be this bad. 'He remained standing and, as he was tires, he yawned. “He is against etiquette to yawn in the presence of a king”, said the monarch. “I forbid you.”'

I don't know who did the translation for the kindle edition, but it looks like they just dumped the text into google translate and said "yeah, that's probably good enough." So many sentences that make zero sense. "Let the glass quiet." Uh...WHAT?! Classic children's story completely ruined by poor translation. Don't buy.

I have read this book several times, and in different ways. The first time was at the University and I read it with the understanding of the adult that always look for something of consequence. The second time I read it because one night I was looking at the stars and the Little Prince's laugh and bells touched my heart with both, sorrow and happiness. After that, I read it again because it means the endless world of possibilities for us who can see more than the expectations of society and culture. I take walks at the desert in my adoptive Utah, and I am always expecting to see the Little Prince comin. I want to ask him about his special rose and his sheep... we even could sit and enjoy together a sunset. More than a book... it is a guide into getting to know your inner self and become a better human being.

I bought this book because it is a favorite of mine that I would just frequently borrow from the library and read, and I thought that I should just own it at this point. A huge part of the charm for this book for me was the illustrations, and I was really excited for it. Upon opening the book, however, I saw that the illustrations were in black and white and it was a sort of letdown for me.

I bought a used version but the book was dirty and had stains. It was not worth the price I paid. Do not buy the used ones!!!! It was pretty gross and for seven dollars that ain’t it sis. Hell no!

Since The Little Prince is pretty short, I finished reading it in one day. The experience reading it as an adult would definitely be different from reading it as a child, so as someone who first read this as an adult, I'll admit this book filled me with a sense of nostalgia for my childhood and more innocent days. The plot at first seems straightforward enough; the narrator meets a baffling young prince who gives him strange requests, and at first the story chronicles the prince's experience on his planet, and encountering other people on other planets, each of them an allegory for a kind of adult someone might grow to become, and most of them aren't very favourable depictions. The prince develops a friendship with the narrator, and this allows him to share his experiences of travelling with him. The language is simple enough, and the illustrations are beautiful. They reminded me of water colours, and although on my Kindle they're all in black and white, the image quality wasn't compromised. Apart from the plot, I think the main takeaway from The Little Prince is definitely the many beautiful and resonant quotes peppered throughout the book, from the fox's nuggets of wisdom to the narrator's observations of the prince. Overall, a very delightful (if also feelsy) read.

This is a wonderful story, so my expectations were high for the popup version. I was blown away. The paper popups are intricate without being flimsy and perfectly bring to life the events and characters. It's worth the extra money. If you're not familiar with The Little Prince, it's a story of a plane-wrecked pilot who meets someone who will fast teach him deep, tough lessons in beautifully simplistic, childlike ways. He quickly becomes attached to this little explorer as he learns more about the folly of grown-ups and the depth of truly living.

The Kindle version is rife with typos, misspellings, punctuation errors and inconsistencies. As proofreading is one of my gigs, I found this version unreadable. In the first third of the book I found 13 errors. I was writing them down to send to someone at Amazon and finally had to stop as there were way too many for me to carry on. I'm not talking about obscure quibbles, but blatant errors that even a child could see. As a for instance, around Location 300, the line reads: The little had to admit... It obviously should have read: The little prince had to admit... Who lets things like that slip by? DO NOT ORDER THE KINDLE VERSION.

Aug. 2014 – July 2019 Many times I have tried to use amazon stars differently with different editions, and to correct the number of stars to match the edition under which this review is posted, but amazon still cannot handle that and gives the wrong number of stars to the wrong editions. So let's counter this right off the bat and move my ratings to the top of the page. The ISBNs, for ease of finding a particular book, are listed here as the publishers have listed them. Le Petit Prince (Harcourt hardcover; ISBN 0-15-243818-1): 5 stars English translations to date: Wakeman/Foreman (Pavilion hardcover; ISBN 9 781857 932881): 4.5 stars Woods (Harcourt hardcover; ISBN 0 15 246503 0): 4.5 stars Woods (Egmont hardcover; ISBN 978 1 4052 1634 0): 4.5 stars Woods (Egmont softcover; ISBN 978 1 4052 8819 4): 4.5 stars Howard Pop-up version (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover; ISBN 978 0 544 65649 9): 4 stars Howard (HMH hardcover; ISBN 0 15 202398 4): 2.5 stars Morpurgo (Penguin hardcover; ISBN 9781784874179): 2.0 stars Schwartz (Collectors hardcover; ISBN 978 1 907360 37 4): 1 star Testot-Ferry (Wordsworth): 1 star Cuffe (Penguin): ? Amazon Kindle Edition: 1 star: unlisted unknown translator. Very poor English; very poor translation. In 2000, the Richard Howard translation of The Little Prince was released in the U.S. to supercede the original of Katherine Woods from 1943. When a publisher comes to one to translate such a classic how does one ever turn them down and say the last translation was good enough? One doesn't. Money and ego prevail. But `good enough' is the debating point. Is it good enough? Howard writes in his preface "...it must be acknowledged that all translations date." Do they? Would one clean up and modernise the language of A.A. Milne in Winnie-the-Pooh? or of Kenneth Grahame in the Wind In The Willows? Of course not. Then Howard modernises Katherine Woods' rendition, ‘cry’ with his ‘weep’ during the departure from the fox. And he thinks this is more `modern?' What self-contradictory nonsense translators write to justify themselves and their publishers. I grew up on Katherine Woods's translation and far prefer it over the Howard, but I must admit, when I look at my French copy, the Woods too has some elisions in translation. During the farewell from the fox, she translates: ‘It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.’ Howard translates: ‘It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.’ The French actually states: "C'est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta rose qui fait ta rose si importante." Literally this translates far more meaningfully than either as ‘It is the time which you have lost for your rose which makes your rose so important.’ So that leaves me thinking both translations have their flaws. I am not sure why both of them would dilute the original like they have, for it has surely been diluted from what Saint-Exupery wrote and intended. The Woods translation is close to Saint-Exupery, but I think he chose "perdu pour" for a reason; he did not write "passé," or any other verb. "Perdu pour" brings a whole other layer of meaning. As one learns, hopefully, as we age, our time is limited. When we do one thing over another, we have ‘lost’ that time, never to be re-gained, to do something else in our time-limited lives. That loss, inherent in any human choice, is what makes those things we choose so special and why yet, they can be so bittersweet, hard to understand, fraught with conflicting feelings or regrets, as well as with happiness. There is another translation, from Alan Wakeman, 1995, illustrated from Saint-Exupery by Michael Foreman. Foreman is one of my favourite illustrators and I have many of his books. He works in beautiful watercolours. When it arrived, as I read Wakeman’s preface, I realized that I was in for something special. Wakeman started translating in 1979, not under contract to anyone, but simply because he was not satisfied with the Katherine Woods translation. He worked in his favourite retreat by the sea, overlooking the Golfe de Giens, which, it turned out, from the beginning of discoveries of plane wreckage in the sea in the mid 1990s, to overlook the crash area where Saint-Exupery was lost in 1944. It took a decade or so to confirm that this area is where Saint-Exupery went down, but Wakeman was apparently eerily in touch with something from Saint-Exupery through their labours of love. Wakeman's translation is pretty accurate (see the detailed comparisons further down), but he too has his quirks. He translates "blé," the colour of the Little Prince's hair, as ‘corn.’ Technically correct, but an odd choice usually considered much more a secondary meaning to the more common one of ‘wheat,’ especially in America. To me Wakeman’s quirky translation here, I find rather a clash, or a break, in the lovely flow Saint-Exupery spent so much time and talent composing, and editing, to create his original work and I think this Wakeman version deserves far more widespread availability, circulation, and sales than it has had. Foreman's illustrations are at least half of what is very special about the Wakeman translation. All of the Saint-Exupery illustrations used, which is most of them (there are illustrations Saint-Exupery too did not include), have been re-worked. The line work and watercolour are far more skilful than Saint-Exupery, but extraordinarily faithful, and retain that childlike naiveté. Also, all drawings have been given color, which brings a satisfaction absent from some, even in the original publication, where for example, I have been sorely tempted to pull out my own paint box for the Little Prince watching the sunset. This drawing is clearly a watercolour originally, but has almost always been published in black and white (why?) except in the pop-up edition. Foreman shows all the drawings in beautiful watercolour. Where Foreman has really excelled is in introducing 8 exceptional full page or double page paintings of the Little Prince and the pilot: one comforting the Little Prince when he was sad; one walking to find water with the Little Prince in his arms; one sharing his drawings with the Little Prince; one running with his revolver to kill the snake if he could... whole new enhancements to the story, bringing the relationship more forward than it was, not just story-telling about the Little Prince. For it is not just the story of a special individual, but also one of special relationships, and the special place in our lives they have, and the time we lose on them that makes them special. Another translation, by Ros and Chloe Schwartz, 2011, is from the Collectors Library. First of all, the illustrations are anything but ‘sensitively rendered’ as its publicity blurb asserts. The colors have been filled in by another artist like old cellular film animation, and are just flat, losing Saint-Exupery's delicate drawing and watercolour washes. The hunter has had circles drawn completely around his eyes making him look like a goth caricature. The drawing of the fox in his lair has completely lost all the grass that was so delicately drawn by Saint-Exupery. The beautiful sense of all his drawings, that they flowed, without borders, right off the page, conveying their own meaningful addition to this borderless story, has been lost by the illustrator putting boxes around many drawings that don't originally have any: the boa constrictor; the sheep. The baobab trees and the weeding of Asteroid B-612 are set against the dark background of space, not the daylight of the originals. The tiger no longer looks fearsome, but like a cute questioning pussycat, its line-work tampered with as it has been on most. This illustration tampering is reason alone not to buy this book. The Schwartz translation has a third perspective on the French, but still, for example, loses the quote from the fox. "Perdu pour" is translated again as ‘spent.’ Then these translators do things so blatantly wrong, like alter his word "mouton" into ‘little lamb.’ If Saint-Exupery had meant ‘little lamb’ he would have written "petit agneau" but he didn't. The Little Prince wanted a sheep. The Schwartz’s edition itself is charming: purse-size, hardcover, with gilt page edges and a ribbon marker. Full marks for book design, but otherwise... I would avoid this edition. I have also discovered enough of the Irene Testot-Ferry translation (from Wordsworth) on the amazon "read inside" feature to render an opinion on it too. Cumbersome. Archaic, and not in a good way like the Katherine Woods. Also, all the drawings in the Testot-Ferry edition are the most abysmal black and white hack reproductions. I recommend avoiding this translation despite its bargain basement price. In this case, you get what you pay for. There are a few key phrases and concepts which can be considered to help make one’s choice of translation. In chapter 1 the pilot explains “J’ai vole un peu, partout dans le monde,” which translates very simply as ‘I have flown a little, around the world. Woods translates: ‘I have flown, a little, over all parts of the world.’ Howard translates: ‘I have flown almost everywhere in the world.’ Wakeman translates: ‘I’ve flown all over the world.’ The Schwartzs translate: ‘I’ve flown all over the world,’ (both leaving out ‘a little’ entirely). This phrase is important to me because I think it establishes (on page 2) the modesty of the pilot. He hasn’t flown everywhere, or ‘all’ over the world (as Saint-Exupery did not either, in a day when flying was very exotic and glamorous and it often went to pilots’ heads). And while translating for the colloquialism is perhaps technically correct, it loses the modesty I think the original intended. Woods and Howard can sort of be read with some modesty here (although it’s a stretch); the others cannot at all. Also in chapter 1 for "J'ai ainsi eu, au cours de ma vie, des tas de contacts avec des tas de gens serieux." which translates simply as ‘I have had, through the course of my life, lots of contact, with lots of serious people.’ Woods translates: ‘In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence.’ Wakeman translates: ‘In the course of this life I have had lots of contact with lots of serious people.’ Howard translates: ‘So I have had, in the course of my life, lots of encounters with lots of serious people.’ The Schwartzs translate: ‘Over the years I have met lots of sensible people and have spent a lot of time living in the world of grown-ups.’ Testot-Ferry translates: "As a result of which I have been in touch, throughout my life, with all kinds of serious people." The simplicity of Wakeman prevails here for me. Woods is lovely, a bit archaic, and she echoes the false importance of grown-ups ‘matters of consequence’ which comes up throughout the book; a nice touch. In the geographer chapter, Saint-Exupery explains "ephemeral" as "qui est menace de disparition prochaine," "something threatened to disappear soon." Woods translates this as: ‘which is in danger of speedy disappearance.’ Wakeman: ‘doomed to disappear soon.’ Howard translates as: ‘which is threatened by imminent disappearance.’ The Schwartzs translate this phrase as ‘likely to die very soon.’ None of them quite right I think, and the Schwartzs way off. I prefer the Wakeman, the Woods, or the Howard, in that order, in this case. Wakeman gets the simplicity, where the others in descending order have not really captured Saint-Exupery's subtlety. I take away from this that Testot-Ferry, the Schwartzs, and Howard don't have the soul of poets or philosophers ideally necessary for translating The Little Prince. They have an odd sense of meaning and a lack of subtlety. They add their own quirky complexities and archaic words as modern updates when they aren’t. They also don’t have just the workman-like craft, to simply translate what is there. I don’t find their approach an improvement of Katherine Woods or a service to The Little Prince. These editions really didn’t need to be done. Another translation which has come on the scene, 2018, is by Michael Morpurgo, the author of War Horse, and author and translator of many other childrens’ books. His preface about the translation indicates his modesty and respect for the art and difficulty of translation, an excellent beginning in and of itself. However, he has approached phrases putting in words that are not there and leaving out ones that he simply finds too difficult for some reason. "J'ai ainsi eu, au cours de ma vie, des tas de contacts avec des tas de gens serieux.” he renders as “In my lifetime of flying round the world I have met lots of interesting people. Two things wrong here. He has added words that are not there in Saint-Exupery’s French (“flying round the world”) and he has completely missed the meaning, contradicted the meaning actually, of what Saint-Exupery intended. Saint-Exupery, or the pilot, did not find these people interesting; he called them “serious people” and he makes it clear that they are the adults who have lost something of themselves and just don’t really get it. They are not ‘interesting,’ they are ‘serious’ in a not-very-good way. Also he translates Saint Exupery's 'ephemeral' as 'in danger of sooner or later disappearing.' Saint Exupery does not write 'sooner or later;' "prochaine" is 'sooner’ (rather than later). Another reason to avoid this translation is in regard to the ‘lost time’ phrase. Morpurgo translates it as “It is the time you gave to your rose that makes her so important to you.” Yes, but again not the word Saint-Exupery used: "perdu," so there are no real other layers of meaning as Saint-Exupery intended in choosing the words he did. There are other examples of why not to select this version, but simply, Morpurgo is helping the world and The Little Prince dumb down. It deserves better. Also the colour illustrations are not very carefully printed. The colours of many, especially later in the book, are quite flat. So, the recommendations are, buy the best available: the Woods edition, along with the Wakeman are head and shoulders above the rest. These two are far more evocative than the others of what was intended and are far more layered in meaning which such a classic piece of literature deserves. Each have their merits and only slight shortcomings. The Foreman illustrations with the Wakeman translation I think makes it rather special. The Woods translation Harcourt hardcover can be harder to find in the U.S. The small paperback (1970 or 1971) is quite small-sized, has no colour illustrations and is not worth buying. This is more likely why it slowed in sales in the U.S., not the Woods translation, and Harcourt misinterpreted, and in their poor judgement, commissioned Howard for a new translation. Other Woods editions in the U.S. I would be wary of the printing. In Britain, the Woods translation is readily available. I have a lovely Egmont 2017 trade-size softcover edition. The Egmont hardcover with a blue background looks like the Howard translation so try and contact the bookseller to verify. There is an Egmont Woods hardcover, consequently I have added the ISBNs to this review. The Wakeman/Foreman collaboration hardcover can still be found, but more and more is an expensive collectors item. I cannot vouch for the paperback version, publications of which often get cheap and sometimes are done with black and white illustrations only and very poorly, like the Katherine Woods U.S. paperback and the Testot-Ferry edition. The illustration quality is good in the hardcover Woods, excellent in the Wakeman/Foreman. The artwork in the pop-up book is exceptional and worth getting as a second copy despite being the Howard translation. The Howard translation, both hardcover and softcover (blue cover), with colour illustrations and some black and white, is easily available in the U.S. at a quite reasonable price, but I think is a mediocre translation. The Schwartz translation is also very mediocre. The Morpurgo edition is available (although the amazon listing again is full of mistakes: my hardcover edition is 85 pages long not 96) and it is just not an improvement over the Woods and the Wakeman or even the Howard. As one can tell, I have tried to be somewhat thorough-going in reviewing editions of The Little Prince, so I have looked at the pop-up book too. The details of it take this review over amazon’s 20k word limit (and this is already getting too long) so I have a more detailed review of it under that edition. Briefly its 25-ish pop-ups are exceptional and worth owning, despite it being the not-very-desirable Howard translation. If your French is alright, get a French version too. It is worth working through Le Petit Prince. You will learn more about life and different cultures and how language relates, than in many weightier, more adult tomes, and our children will too from this timeless story with so many layers and such depth in its simplicity. And the colour of the illustrations in my Harcourt French hardcover edition (1971) are far and away the best colour of all editions. P.S. A comment prompted this post script: I was informed there is a translation by T.V.F. Cuffe from Penguin, 1995. The Cuffe translation appears to be rather rare. The 2018 Morpurgo translation is from Penguin-Vintage-Random House, and is Penguin’s new edition, so the Cuffe edition seems bound to become ‘ephemeral.’ Perhaps, this says all we need to know about it. The Wakeman edition is becoming a rarity, sadly. The reason for this is that The Little Prince fell out of copyright in England after fifty years, so Penguin and Pavillion, anticipating this, did the Cuffe version and the Wakeman version respectively. What they didn’t anticipate was that later in 1995 the UK harmonized its copyright law with the EU where copyright is 70 years from the death of the author, not 50 years from the date of publication, and Saint-Exupery is allowed an additional 30 years due to his premature death in exceptional service to his nation during the war. The Little Prince, like a handful of other titles, fell back into copyright in the EU. Hence The Little Prince will not now fall out of copyright in the EU until 2045. This means, alas, likely no Folio Society edition or any other UK or European edition without the agreement of Saint-Exupery’s surviving family on Consuelo’s side, to whom he bequeathed the copyright, for she is of course the rose whom the Little Prince found impossible to live with and left, but loved nonetheless. In the U.S. of course, they do their own thing, hence the Howard translation in 2000. Additionally, as I understand it, there are some differences among the family. Saint-Exupery’s birth family apparently approved of the Wakeman translation, but Saint-Exupery’s wife Consuelo (and now her family), owning the copyright, would have a pretty strict and exclusive agreement with Harcourt, now Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, in North America. Why would they not, for this incredible money-maker that most publishers would love a piece of, apparently the second most-printed book in the world? The Katherine Woods hardcover and trade paperback versions are still available through amazon.com, amazon.ca, amazon.uk, or Abe Books, and are thankfully not entirely in HMH’s taste and control. Perhaps, after Brexit, the Wakeman edition may become readily available again too. That would be a treat for all Saint-Exupery and Michael Foreman fans. And maybe an ideal translation (if there is such a thing with living breathing languages) will come out in the future.

Shipping was fast, nice book and illustrations— EXCEPT for the fact that the white square around the picture COVERS the WORDS! Very BAD graphic designer, my son could not read the book as he was assigned! At least they refunded it, no questions, and no need to mail it back.

I bought the cheapo kindle version and the translation is terrible. I think this is another instance of a plagiarized book on Amazon. Surely a legitimate translation couldn’t be this bad. 'He remained standing and, as he was tires, he yawned. “He is against etiquette to yawn in the presence of a king”, said the monarch. “I forbid you.”'

I don't know who did the translation for the kindle edition, but it looks like they just dumped the text into google translate and said "yeah, that's probably good enough." So many sentences that make zero sense. "Let the glass quiet." Uh...WHAT?! Classic children's story completely ruined by poor translation. Don't buy.

I have read this book several times, and in different ways. The first time was at the University and I read it with the understanding of the adult that always look for something of consequence. The second time I read it because one night I was looking at the stars and the Little Prince's laugh and bells touched my heart with both, sorrow and happiness. After that, I read it again because it means the endless world of possibilities for us who can see more than the expectations of society and culture. I take walks at the desert in my adoptive Utah, and I am always expecting to see the Little Prince comin. I want to ask him about his special rose and his sheep... we even could sit and enjoy together a sunset. More than a book... it is a guide into getting to know your inner self and become a better human being.

I bought this book because it is a favorite of mine that I would just frequently borrow from the library and read, and I thought that I should just own it at this point. A huge part of the charm for this book for me was the illustrations, and I was really excited for it. Upon opening the book, however, I saw that the illustrations were in black and white and it was a sort of letdown for me.

I bought a used version but the book was dirty and had stains. It was not worth the price I paid. Do not buy the used ones!!!! It was pretty gross and for seven dollars that ain’t it sis. Hell no!

Since The Little Prince is pretty short, I finished reading it in one day. The experience reading it as an adult would definitely be different from reading it as a child, so as someone who first read this as an adult, I'll admit this book filled me with a sense of nostalgia for my childhood and more innocent days. The plot at first seems straightforward enough; the narrator meets a baffling young prince who gives him strange requests, and at first the story chronicles the prince's experience on his planet, and encountering other people on other planets, each of them an allegory for a kind of adult someone might grow to become, and most of them aren't very favourable depictions. The prince develops a friendship with the narrator, and this allows him to share his experiences of travelling with him. The language is simple enough, and the illustrations are beautiful. They reminded me of water colours, and although on my Kindle they're all in black and white, the image quality wasn't compromised. Apart from the plot, I think the main takeaway from The Little Prince is definitely the many beautiful and resonant quotes peppered throughout the book, from the fox's nuggets of wisdom to the narrator's observations of the prince. Overall, a very delightful (if also feelsy) read.

This is a wonderful story, so my expectations were high for the popup version. I was blown away. The paper popups are intricate without being flimsy and perfectly bring to life the events and characters. It's worth the extra money. If you're not familiar with The Little Prince, it's a story of a plane-wrecked pilot who meets someone who will fast teach him deep, tough lessons in beautifully simplistic, childlike ways. He quickly becomes attached to this little explorer as he learns more about the folly of grown-ups and the depth of truly living.

The Kindle version is rife with typos, misspellings, punctuation errors and inconsistencies. As proofreading is one of my gigs, I found this version unreadable. In the first third of the book I found 13 errors. I was writing them down to send to someone at Amazon and finally had to stop as there were way too many for me to carry on. I'm not talking about obscure quibbles, but blatant errors that even a child could see. As a for instance, around Location 300, the line reads: The little had to admit... It obviously should have read: The little prince had to admit... Who lets things like that slip by? DO NOT ORDER THE KINDLE VERSION.

The pop-up art in this edition is fantastic. On some pages it is static while other pages are movable via tabs. Still others pop out in the more traditional way when the page is opened. The variety of the way the pop up art is "paper engineered" adds to the childlike wonder when viewing the world that is at the heart of this classic tale. It is almost as if the Little Prince himself designed them! So why must I give this book less than 5 stars? The new Howard translation manages to take the poetic wonder of the original and reduce it to a "grown up" version devoid of much of the magic in Katherine Woods' translation. Not having the proficiency needed to read it in the original language I can not be certain if what I loved as a child and learn from again and again as I grow older is there in the words that Antoine de Saint-Exupery penned. I strongly suspect that it is, as the story has been loved by people from almost countless cultures reading in numerous languages. The Woods version, published as the official English translation for the first 55 years or so after Saint-Exupery completed the French original, certainly conveys a poetic sense of wonder that is lacking in the newer Howard account. When I ordered this edition several months ago the description stated the text was the full, unedited translation by Woods. It appears Amazon has since corrected this oversight. I'm sure I was not the only person disappointed when the book arrived to discover the text was Howard's instead of Woods' translation. If you've read the Woods translation already I can recommend this edition on the strength of the pop up art. If you have not read The Little Prince I would recommend you find a used copy of the Woods translation or look for it online.

I love this book and have read it many times over the years. It's not just a children's book, and every grown who takes themselves too seriously should read it. Having said that, I got this version for my kindle and was disappointed with what may be a bad translation or just bad editing. Somehow, in the first sentence instead of a boa the word is wildcat(?) and a paragraph later it goes back to boa. The poor translation and grammatical oddities continue. I only read a few pages before I had to put it down. I wish one could return e-books.

I am writing this review, not about The Little Prince story, but the quality of the actual book. This would have been a beautiful, hardcover book had the printer taken the time to let the ink dry. The book has a blue, gold-embossed, leather-like cover, and the text pages are printed in black and white (I think the original version has color illustrations) on what feels like good quality paper. Nonetheless, many of the pages where there are black and white illustrations, the ink offset on to the page on top, leaving a faint shadow over the text. On some spreads, the text is so faint I wonder if the book was printed on a xerox machine. I wish I was able to show photos of the book, but it seems like Amazon has removed that function from the review section. I love The Little Prince so I am giving it 5 stars for the lovely prose by St. Exupery and translation by Katherine Woods, but I am knocking off two stars for the terrible print quality. Since there are so many editions of The Little Prince out there, I am including the ISBNs so people will know which copy I reviewing. ISBN-10: 0891903313 ISBN-13: 978-0891903314

I read this book because an apostle said that it was one of his favorites. It is a simple book. Throughout I was trying to find meaning within it. It had some very strange use of the English language and at times I thought it was referring to something but only to discover that my assumption was wrong. Still thinking and trying to understand the meaning of the book...

Good enough for the price, and the translation is perfect. Lovely story.

The book itself arrived damaged ... appears to have been used ... pages are discolored and folded through ... my son won’t mind I’m sure but I do

In 2000, the Richard Howard translation of The Little Prince was released to supercede the original of Katherine Woods from 1943. When a publisher comes to one to translate such a classic how does one ever turn them down and say the last translation was good enough! I guess one doesn't. Money and ego prevail. But `good enough' is the debating point. Is it good enough? Howard writes in his preface "...it must be acknowledged that all translations date." Do they? Would one clean up and modernise the language of A.A. Milne in Winnie-the-Pooh? or of Kenneth Grahame in the Wind In The Willows? Of course not. Then Howard modernises Katherine Woods' rendition, "cry" with his "weep" during the departure from the fox. And he thinks this is more `modern?' What self-contradictory nonsense translators can write to justify themselves and their publishers. I grew up on Katherine Woods' translation and prefer it over the Howard, but I must admit, when I look at my French copy, the Woods too has some elisions in translation. During the farewell from the fox, she translates: "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." Howard translates: "It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important." The French actually states: "C'est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta rose qui fait ta rose si importante." Literally this translates far more meaningfully and philosophically than either of the Woods or the Howard as "It is the time which you have lost for your rose which makes your rose so important." So that leaves me thinking both translations have their flaws. I am not sure why both of them would dilute the original like they have, for it has surely been diluted from what St. Exupery wrote and intended, but the Woods translation is very close to St. Exupery's text and meaning and brings a layer to think about beyond merely "spent" time. From 2011 another translation is on the scene, by Ros and Chloe Schwarz, and it needs comment too. First of all, the illustrations: it is anything but sensitively rendered as its publicity blurb asserts. The colors have been filled in like old cellular film animation, and are just flat, losing St. Exupery's delicate drawing and watercolour washes. The hunter, as another example, has had circles drawn completely around his eyes now making him look like a goth caricature. The drawing of the fox in his lair has completely lost all the grass that was so delicately drawn by St. Exupery. The beautiful sense of all his drawings, that they flowed, without borders, right off the page, conveying their own meaningful addition to this borderless story, has been lost on many many of the drawings by the illustrator putting boxes around drawings that don't originally have any. The boa constrictor for instance. The sheep, for instance. Here the baobab trees and the weeding of Asteroid B-612 are now set against the dark background of space, not the daylight of the originals. The tiger no longer looks fearsome; it looks like a cute questioning pussycat, its line-work tampered with as it has been on most of the drawings. This illustration tampering is unforgiveable and reason alone not to buy this book. The Schwarz translation has a third perspective on the French, but still, for example, loses the quote mentioned above from the fox. "Perdu pour" is translated here as "spent on" again. St. Exupery chose "perdu pour" for a reason; he did not write "passé," or any other verb. "Perdu pour" brings many other things, more layers of meaning, to mind. Then these translators do other things. They do things so blatantly wrong like alter his word "mouton" into "little lamb." If St. Exupery had meant little lamb he would have written "petit agneau" but he didn't. The little prince is not so dumb to not know little lambs grow up into bigger sheep. Also, in the geographer chapter, St. Exupery explains "ephemeral" as "menace de disparition prochaine," "a menace which disappears soon." The Schwarzs translate that phrase as "likely to die very soon." Clearly they completely don't get St. Exupery's thought and subtlety and at the same time possess the unbelievable arrogance to write words that St. Exupery did not. They clearly don't have the soul of poets or philosophers ideally necessary, nor even the workman-like craft to simply translate what is there. Their approach to translation, like Howard's is unforgivable, and is another reason this book too should absolutely just sit on the rubbish heap until someone re-does it properly. The book itself is charming: tiny, hardcover, with gilt page edges and a ribbon marker. Full marks for being sturdy and beautifully portable, but otherwise... do yourself a favour and stay away from it too. I recently found another translation of which I was unaware, from Alan Wakeman, 1995 (hardcover), illustrated from St. Exupery by Michael Foreman. Michael Foreman is one of my favourite illustrators and I have many of his books. Works in beautiful watercolours. I wondered. When it arrived I knew I was in for something special. Wakeman (he says in the preface), started translating in 1979, not under contract, but simply because he was not satisfied with the Katherine Woods' translation. He worked in his favourite retreat by the sea, overlooking the Golfe de Giens, which turned out, from the beginning discovery in 1993 of St. Exupery's sunken plane, to overlook the crash site in the sea where St. Exupery was lost. It took another decade or so to absolutely confirm that this is where St. Exupery went down, but Wakeman was apparently eerily in touch with something from St. Exupery through their labours of love. Wakeman's translation is pretty accurate. He still translates "perdu pour" as "spent on," but okay. He translates "ephemere" as "doomed to disappear soon." Nice, and with a layer of fate the Schwarz's miss, but which Woods captures, albeit a bit more clumsily with "in danger of speedy disappearance." Wakeman has his quirks though. He translates "blé", the colour of the little prince's hair, as "corn." Technically correct, but an odd choice usually considered much more a secondary meaning to the more common one of "wheat." While a kernel of corn may be the colour of the little prince's hair, the kernels are not seen under the corn husks in a field of corn. The tassels, while colour correct, are overwhelmed in a corn field, especially from a fox's point of view, by all the green and are not really seen either. Wakeman seems to have never spent any time by a corn field to know that, unlike the fox who lives there, so Wakeman does not get that his quirky translation allusion is a stretch in reminding one of the little prince's hair colour. I find it rather a clash, or at the very least a break in the lovely flow St. Exupery spent so much time and talent composing, and work editing to create in his original work. Foreman's illustrations are what is special about this Wakeman translation. All of the St. Exupery ones used, which is most of them, have been taken and re-worked. The line work and watercolour is far more skilful than St. Exupery, but extraordinarily faithful, and retains that childlike naiveté. It really takes a second look to realize it is not actually St. Exupery's line work with better color. All drawings have been given color, which brings a satisfaction absent from some, even in the original publication, where for example, I have been sorely tempted to pull out my own paint box for the little prince watching the sunset. This drawing is clearly a watercolour originally, but has only ever been published in black and white. (Why?) Here all the drawings are now shown in colour. But where Foreman has really excelled is in introducing 8 beautiful full page or double page paintings of the little prince and the pilot: comforting the little prince when he was sad, walking with the little prince in his arms when exhausted to find water, sharing his drawings with the little prince, running with his revolver to kill the snake if he could... whole new enhancements to the story, bringing more forward the relationship that it was, not just story-telling about the little prince. For it is not just the story of a special individual, but also one of a special relationship, and the special place in our lives of special relationships and what makes them special. The Woods translation is still head and shoulders above the new ones, except for the Wakeman. Both are far more evocative of what was intended. The Foreman illustrations with the Wakeman translation I think makes it even better. The Woods translation hardcover is now a collectors item and can often be very expensive and harder to find in the U.S. Easier in Britain (and isn't that a whole other very interesting essay on the lovely differences it indicates). The Woods edition appears to be available economically as a paperback (white cover, usually pre-2000 publishing date), but with no color illustrations. The Howard translation, both hardcover and softcover (blue cover), both with color illustrations (and some black and white), is easily available at a quite reasonable price. The Schwarz translation is available in England and Canada easily, but hard to locate and has very poor notes on amazon.com. The Wakeman/Foreman collaboration (hardcover) can still be found used, in good shape, economical, for now, but also as a very expensive collectors item. (There are, I think, copyright issues until 2044; another interesting essay). I cannot vouch for the paperback version, publications of which often get cheap and sometimes are done with black and white illustrations only, like the Katherine Woods paperback and the Testot-Ferry translation (see below and see my review of Michael Foreman's Arthur High King Of Britain for more.). My recommendation is buy the best available, the Wakeman/Foreman hardcover edition, or the Woods hardcover, (or both; each have their merits and shortcomings), and if your French is alright, get a French version too. It is worth working through Le Petit Prince. You will learn more about life and language and different cultures in doing so than in many larger weightier, more adult tomes and our children will too from this timeless story with so many layers and such depth in its simplicity. The ratings: Le Petit Prince: 5 stars English translations to date: Wakeman/Foreman: 4.5 stars Woods: 4.25 stars Howard: 1 star Schwarz: 1 star Testot-Ferry: 1 star P.S. I have also discovered there is enough of the Irene Testot-Ferry translation (Wordsworth) on the amazon "read inside" feature to render an opinion on it too. Cumbersome. Archaic, and not in a good way like the Katherine Woods. The Testot-Ferry is awkward, incorrect: e.g. "un peu," "a little," is translated as "more or less." "I flew more or less all over the world." Seems to lack the modesty intended by St. Exupery and the pilot here in the story which "a little" conveys. So she doesn't really get it. (And by the way, Wakeman leaves out "a little" completely. Rather a short-coming). The Testot-Ferry translation is awkward. She opens a paragraph with: "As a result of which I have been in touch, throughout my life, with all kinds of serious people." for "J'ai ainsi eu, au cours de ma vie, des tas de contacts avec des tas de gens serieux." which more correctly and simply translates as "I have had, through the course of my life, lots of contact, with lots of serious people." Also, all the drawings in this edition are the most abysmal black and white hack reproductions. So avoid this translation despite its bargain basement price. You get what you pay for. There are better (more accurate) translations and more richness and layers of meaning in the Wakeman and the Woods translations, which are missing and awkward in the Testot-Ferry, and which such a classic piece of literature deserves. P.P.S. A recent comment elsewhere prompted this post script: If you have a Cuffe translation of The Little Prince it too is very rare and likely will never be re-printed. The Wakeman edition is becoming such too, sadly. The reason for this is that the Little Prince fell out of copyright in England after fifty years, so Penguin and Pavillion, actually anticipating this, did the Cuffe version and the Wakeman version respectively. What they didn’t anticipate was that later in 1995 the UK harmonized its copyright law with the EU where copyright is 70 years and St. Exupery is allowed an additional 30 years due to his premature death in exceptional service to his nation and The Little Prince, like a handful of other titles, fell back into copyright there. Hence The Little Prince will not now fall out of copyright in Europe or England until 2045. This means, alas, likely no Folio Society edition or any other UK or European one for quite some time. In the U.S. of course, they ignore all this, and do their own thing, hence the Howard translation in 2000. Additionally, as I understand it, there are some differences among the family. St. Exupery’s birth family appears to have approved of the Wakeman translation, but St. Exupery’s wife Consuelo (and now her family), I believe, own the copyright, and my guess is, have a pretty strict and exclusive agreement with Harcourt Brace in North America. Why would HB not, for this incredible money-maker that most publishers would love a piece of. Which means yes, the Katherine Woods version is still available in England where it is beyond HB’s taste and control, thankfully.

This book is excellent, it has great stories wrapped in simple characters but with an interpretative sense that could be applied to real characters on our planet.

This seems like a bargain price Kindle book that would be difficult to turn down. Do yourself a favor: do not purchase it! You truly get what you pay for. There were incorrectly-phrased sentences, poor word choices, and downright incomprehensible meanings throughout the entire story. I do not recommend this particular title to anyone.

This book was recommended to me by a friend. I am so impressed with the wisdom I found in this short story. As a story, it's so far fetched that it almost doesn't make sense at times, but as a collection of thoughts and philosophies, it stands with the best of them in my opinion. Books teach different things at different times in our lives, but for me this week, this book taught me how to think about what is most important in life. The narrator goes through all kinds of "obsessions" that people have in life, and points out which ones are fulfilling and which ones aren't. It seems obvious when presented the way the author does. Very well written book. I look forward to reading it in French one day.

It would be pretty hard not to like this classic book, and this version is generally respectable. However, I would pay a few more dollars to get a color edition, because the illustrations (originals of the author) are worth seeing in color and with much better quality than this relatively cheap print. Even the quality of the printing of the text is a bit disappointing. The difference between color and grayscale is between being fairly satisfied reading the book (grayscale), and enjoying every turn of the page and wanting to read it to your kids and grandkids and their greatgrandkids (color).

Arrived in great condition, I just wish I’d known that there was a price sticker on both the front and back cover that can’t be removed without ruining the cover. Also, it says on the back cover that this edition is only for school distribution...not sure why or what that means. Not sure its worth the trouble of returning it, might just buy another and take this as a loss.

I read this as a child and remembered it fondly. The other night while my husband and I watched TV there was a reference made that reminded me of this book. In all the years since I read it nothing made me think of it. Then, as if the story was begging me to read it... I began a new book. In the book a young mans grandfather bought him a book to read... "The Little Prince," I was very surprised. So I put that book aside and purchased a copy of the little prince and re-read it for the first time in about 45 years. It's as lovely as I remember it. And now, having read it as an adult I see things I missed as a child. I'm so glad this book called me to read it today.

It is not a book only for children, but also for adults. I like the K.Woods’ version better. The important phrase of this book Woods: “Here is my secret. it is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eyes”

Really adorable! We watched the movie on amazon and fell in love with the story, so I got this book to read to my 8 year old son at night, and it does seem like it's the whole story, not a watered down version for little kids. The pop ups don't disappoint! Great for the price. The only thing is, I wouldn't just give this too him because some of the pop ups are intricate and I wouldn't want him to accidently tear it.

A must read for all ages and read again at different stages of life and our interpretation changes. I love this book!

Every now and then I like to read a little book that holds some very precious messages on living a full life. "The Little Prince" is one of those valuable gems. As I stroll through the pages, meeting with the various characters that the Little Prince encounters on his journey, I am reminded of the numerous follies that adults can fall prey to as we make our way through a lifetime. The freshness of the Little Prince's eyes and his open heart are lessons for my soul. And, of course, the wisdom of the fox rings out clearly to me, offering its sweet refreshment, just as the narrator searches for his much-needed water in the desert; " Now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye" Words to live by, indeed!

I should have been more careful after seeing the cover of this Kindle edition...the translation is absolutely terrible! It sounds like it was translated literally - taking out all of the meaning and subtlety. It doesn't seem to have any info in it about who translated it.

I hadn't cried in years but cried when I read this book. It is a children's book, and when read with no background and at face value it does that well though a little odd. However, if one peers deeper it is clear the content is allegorical that adults will understand (give a quick reading over in Wikipedia for a good quick understanding- take note of the rose, the fox, the well). It is a good fun story for kids that can also have a good grounding effect on adults- reminding them of what the important things in life really are.

I have had a very interesting time purchasing this book, but everything came together in the end--allow me to explain: - I was determined to purchase a hardcover copy of the Katherine Woods translation of The Little Prince. - As I was giving the book as a gift, I thought this particular copy (ISBN-10 0891903313) would be an attractive choice. - Prior to purchasing, I wanted to confirm who did the translation into English--Woods, Howard, or someone else altogether? - I don't know if you have noticed, but this information IS NOT on the Amazon product detail page. - I scoured the reviews; however, as far as I could tell, there are no reviews specific to this product on the product page that tell who the translator is--all refer to other copies of the book rather than ISBN-10 0891903313. - I scoured the internet via every Google search I could think of to try to find out who did the translation for this copy--no luck there. - My next course of action was to contact the seller--Amazon. After 30 minutes on chat with a Amazon associate, said associate determined the information was not available and advised me to contact the publisher. I replied that perhaps Amazon should contact the publisher to provide this information, since Amazon is selling the product. The associate agreed and said I would receive a follow-up email with this information within 48 hours. That was on April 30. It is now May 10 and I have not been contacted. - I did call the publisher and spoke with someone at Amereon--however, they did not know the translator off hand and have not returned my call. My subsequent calls went unanswered. - After 48 hours had passed since my chat with the Amazon associate, I decided to call Amazon to follow-up. Another associate did his best to find the information via Google--however, he had no more luck than I did. After 30 minutes, he advised me to contact one of the other sellers of the book to find this information. I pushed back because I planned to purchase to the book from Amazon--if you are telling me to ask a seller of the book for this information, aren't you confirming that you should know, since you are the seller of the book that I plan to purchase from? Finally, the conversation ended with him sending me an email and promising follow-up within 48 hours. That was on May 2 and it is now May 10. I have not heard back. - Finally, my curiosity got the better of me and I just ordered the book. I received it yesterday and I am happy to confirm that this is the Katherine Woods translation! The pictures are black and white which I really like. It is really a beautiful book and exactly what I was looking for. Let the record show that this is a Katherine Woods translation. Amazon, I hope you will update the product detail page...and maybe get back to your customers when you say you will! But no hard feelings :).

This is a triple treat for lovers of this classic. The text is immortal; the illustrations are reproduced in all their pastel glory; the pop-up technology makes an unusual and effective easel for these illustrations, giving the viewer/reader a whole new perspective on the entirety of de Saint- Exuperay's work. If one fears that the so called gimmicks of pop-ups would distract from the themes and lessons of the work, one is quite wrong. This is a glorious example of the seemless welding of a textual classic with a new format. I found this book charming, beautiful, and intriguing as I experienced, for the first time, physical dimension, movement, and depth of quite a new kind.

This book was an emotional journey I was not expecting to go on. By the end of it, I was beside myself. Also, the Netflix film version was really good. The changes they made in some place were a bit much. But, it still had the same emotional impact as the book. This book is great for the whole family.

The story is deep, moving, and will stay with you forever. The eBook was quirky, at least using the online reader. Good enough, but had oddities with the pictures, which are just simple line drawings.

This book is made out of pure imagination from the mind of adult who still remembers the wonders of being a child.

The kindle edition uses Katherine Wood's translation, so I was relieved reading the reviews that I had by chance chosen the medium with the more faithful translation. I haven't read the new translation, but the excerpts posted by other reviewers lend credibility to the claims I see echoed in the attacks on the new version. As for the content of the book, it's a book that's easy to wrap up an hour or two for the first read. Plenty of messages, and likely worth a second or third read somewhere down the line. I'm looking forward to the film to-be-released August 2016 in the states.

What an amazing story. I had heard of this book for years but never tried it. I found a copy at a small book store going out of business and bought a copy and loved it so much I bought a digital copy to have while I am out and just want to read it again. This book is so full of vivid imagination and teaches children morals unlike a lot of books today. I will read this to my children one day and even would love to have a nursery decorated in this theme because it was just THAT good. I have recommended this book to so many people. It truly is amazing.

This is a wonderful meditation on many subjects from a mysterious viewpoint. This is not really a children’s book although most 5 year olds can understand the words. Most of all the tension between the author and the Little Prince is like a solvent relaxing old confining, cultural chains.

This little book had been recommended to me years ago. I enjoy children’s literature and had just read the delightful “Wind in the Willows.” I was open to be charmed, but charmed I was not. I found the whole book puzzling, disturbing and hard to read and relate to. The analogy was unclear and I found the references clumsy.

This is a sweet tale of a young prince who travels the galaxy, and tries to understand the weird ways of adults. By the time he meets a man on Earth, he knows what is important in life, and shares his wisdom.

Bought this for my wife as a christmas present. She was soooo happy when she opened the present! This is a marvelous piece of art! I'm not too familiar with the book itself but I mentioned to my wife that some reviewers complained about the translation. Now she is a German born and a teacher in the US and she is also a great fan of this guy Exupery. She owns several "Little Prince" books in different languages and after reading this one she told me the complaints are totally unfounded. At any rate, she loves this Pop-Up book very much and I think I made the right choice last christmas!

Lovely and poignantly written. Good for all ages. Its a timeless book that can reread again and again. I do not like reviewing books at the end of reading a book. Telling me how short or long the review has to be!

At first I thought that the writing was confusing. Then I started looking at other translations online and realized that this version is VERY poorly translated. It does the story no justice. They keep calling characters "it" and the flower scene was totally butchered and something got translated to "toilet"?!?? See the picture I included. This version says it's copyright 2019 Classica Libris.

The quality is astonishing. I am a big fan of The Little Prince and have been since 6th grade. I have many editions and give the book as a gift often. This edition was purchased as a gift for the young granddaughter of a dear friend; after receiving it and examining it closely I decided to keep this copy and order a second as the gift. The quality of the art and the engineering of the pop-ups are extraordinary. The translation is different than the 2 other english versions but quite good. This book is something that you will want to save and show as art. Buy 2; one to read and one to put away. I have no complaints at all w/ this product only praise.

I liked this so much that I had to get another as a gift.

The story is wonderful. One of my favorites. I wanted a kindle version to take with me anywhere. Unfortunately this isn’t a great translation. Some sentences don’t quite make sense.

This is my favorite book of all time. The book itself is fine but it isn't quite what I was going for. I thought it would be like the copy I have already. It is very good for a gift though to someone who is less obsessed.

After I saw the movie on Netflix, I had to see what the book was all about. It's found a place on my bookshelf and in my heart. So much symbolism. Very deep, and quite moving.

This amazing story is timeless. I want to read it again and again to better understand the meaning. Some of the translation from French was awkward and distracted me. I recommend this book to adults who are lost in the lies the world tell us. Adults need to relearn what is truly important. I have ordered a copy for my grandson who is a college freshman and turns 19 next week. I will share my copy with my husband who is so sad and disappointed with life.

I know there is some controversy over which translation version is the most accurate, something I only became aware of when I was trying to find the book I loved so much as a child. I don't have much to say on which is most accurate, but I will say that this version, translated by Katherine Woods, is *my* Little Prince, and the one that stuck with me so much. It took some searching but I finally found my hardback copy and I couldn't be happier. This is a much loved addition to my personal library. I first read this story as a child and it made an impression that followed me into adulthood. A unique, far-fetched story with so much meaning and depth. "Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."

Until an escapee from a very small planet explains to you the difference between a hat and a boa constrictor, you are seeing the world through jaundiced eyes. In place where a fox can explain being tamed, and a rose can fierce with her single thorn, you can learn the importance of all that you take for granted each day, even a tear. To read this book is to experience a place unique with it's joy, it's loss, and it's message of love that continues from afar. You'll never look at a star quite the same again. And you'll listen as you do. This book is a must for you.

A beautiful story, which truly touches your heart. I had just seen the movie and immediately downloaded the book, which I had previously read, and was so happy to get reacquainted with the Little Prince.

I teach ESL and have a lovely lady student who loves books and the little prince especially. I got this for her as a present and she loved it!

I ordered this book in a nostalgic moment for a son who turned 30. I first saw it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art store in NYC. It was in sealed plastic, but I viewed the display copy and loved it. When I saw this advertised on Amazon. I ordered it. Yes, it was less in cost than the museum was charging .... but when I received it, the book was not in any sealed container and it had smudges of dirt on the cover. In addition, one of the pop up pages had to be glued because it was torn. Since I was late in ordering this in time for his birthday, I did not return it -- but I feel a bit cheated, as I think it clearly was not new which is how it was represented to me. The book itself is priceless. Highly recommend it.

I saw a film version of this classic children's book back in the 70s. It didn't exactly thrill me. However the original story is far more superior. It's a simple tale of a pilot who meets a prince distant planet who comes to visit our little world.

Excellent story, however this particular translation was poor. With a better translation this could be beautifully paired with Shel Silverstine's The Giving Tree

This translation is a widely loved masterpiece but now out of print. Would you put da Vinci's Mona Lisa in storage so that a more "modern" rendition could be displayed in the Louvre? This tragedy can only be explained as a money making scheme by the publishers. The new translation doesn't hold a candle to the one by Katherine Woods. The publishers should apologize and republish the 1943 Woods edition.

This is a wonderful book. It was the first I read out of college and it inspired as much clarity then as I'm sure it would have as a child. It's an esteemed book and there are many meditations and actual reviews out there more insightful than I will be but these are a couple notes for the kindle edition: a) It's the 1943 translation (as far as I can tell with the lack of first World War era Saharan drinking fountains). b) The illustrations are tiny on my Android phone. They span about a third of the screen and if you click to view them they seem to be stored at that resolution.

I love this book and the story... grew up with it in Germany and it has so much general wisdom to offer even for adults.

Katherine Woods' simple and beautiful translation is the only one that does justice to The Little Prince. Published by Harcourt in 1943 and 1971, her English translation is the essential --- the translation loved and quoted by English-speaking people around the world, even by members of English- and French-speaking Canadian Parliament! But hers is OUT OF PRINT by Harcourt (who copyrighted her translation in 1943), so snatch up used copies while you may, or be certain you are getting hers in any new or used publication! Beware of the "new translation" by Richard Howard, first published in 2000; I accidentally got one. Ouch! His "new" translation purges meaning and is not worth the money. It gives a falseness to one of the most sincere stories ever written. Howard's lacks beauty and is at times unintelligible: It simply does not make sense. Since Howard has no apparent understanding of the truths expressed in The Little Prince, this is not to be wondered at. I have never found a translation by anyone else to equal that by Katherine Woods. (Note: I have never, EVER found a decent copy of any translation by Barnes and Noble of a non-English work.) If the translator's name is not given an any edition, don't buy it! The large print by Thorndike Press falls into this category. Too often it lacks the beauty of Katherine Woods' translation, although it does seem a little better than Richard Howard's. However, that's not saying much, and I suggest buying the Katherine Woods' translation and using a magnifying glass. Hers is worth the effort! I compare here Woods' and Howard's translations, but I feel it has value for those contemplating buying the Thorndike Press one, as well. One example from the Thorndike Press translation: near the end, the words of the little prince read as follows: "When you look up at the sky at night, since I shall be living on one of them and laughing on one of them, for you it will be as if all the stars were laughing. You and only you will have start that can laugh!" In the Katherine Woods translation (Chapter XXVI), the little prince says, "You -- you alone will have the stars as no one else has them"..."In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night...You -- only you -- will have stars that can laugh!" (quoted by actor Robin Williams' daughter Zelda, age 25, in tribute at his passing**). Neither Howard's translation nor the Thorndike one can match that for meaning, poignancy, or interpretation of de Saint Exupéry's words. Howard's lacks not only meaning but also heart, while Katherine Woods' translation captures both -- a matter of great consequence ("matters of consequence" being one theme that runs through the book) since Le Petit Prince is full of heart. One example says it all: The fox's "secret" told to the little prince in parting (Chapter XXI) --- Katherine Woods' translation reads: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." She uses the beautiful rhetorical mode: "What is essential..." In the original French: "...on ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." In English, "l'essentiel" might be rendered "the essential things" or be put, as Woods does, in the rhetorical form: "What is essential..." Howard's "new" translation of the same line reads: "One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." Huh? "Anything essential is invisible to the eyes"? Far from expressing Antoine de Saint Exupéry's meaning, this generalization means, in effect, nothing. And it is obviously not true: Water is essential, and you can see it (more or less). Katherine Woods' exquisite translation captures the essence of this line: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." Quintessential, no line in the book is more important. It epitomizes her entire translation. (Woods employs the poetic English idiom "eye" for "les yeux", a superior choice of wording.) It is ironic that, in translating The Little Prince, Richard Howard should lose "that which is essential" and that he should be unable to "see with his heart." Amazon.com's Editorial Review on HOWARD'S translation once said that "Katherine Woods sometimes wandered off the mark, giving the text a slightly wooden or didactic accent. Happily, Richard Howard...has streamlined and simplified to wonderful effect." This would have been more accurately written thus: "Katherine Woods uses poetic devices and a didactic accent to wonderful effect, capturing the essence and meaning of Antoine de Saint Exupéry's classic tale in a timeless translation. Unhappily and unfortunately, Richard Howard...has streamlined and simplified in a words-only translation, and he wanders off the mark, obscuring what were otherwise truths both simple and profound, giving the text a wooden effect." Woods' translation is the one that I read and re-read, and which helped me to understand why I grieved so when my great-grandmother died. We'd spent so much time with her. As the fox says to the little prince in explaining why HIS rose is so significant to him, "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." He explains that HIS rose is "unique in all the world" ("unique du monde" which Howard translates, in toto, as "the only rose in the world" -- another bit of nonsense). This passage in Woods' translation also helps me keep in mind what I'm doing with my time, and why. If I watch T.V. the most, then T.V. becomes the most important. If I pass the time with my family, they become the most important. Another always-to-be-remembered example of a passage from Woods' translation occurs when the little prince must say goodbye to the fox: The fox says, "Ah, I shall cry." "It's your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..." "Yes, that is so," said the fox. "But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince. "Yes, that is so," said the fox. "Then it has done you no good at all!" "It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the color of the wheat fields." Before the little prince tamed the fox, the wheat fields (les champs de blé) had "nothing to say to" the fox. "But," he had said to the little prince, "you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat..." Once I disliked giant sunflowers. Then I discovered that someone I love liked them very much. So we planted some and cared for them together. Now, when I see giant sunflowers, I remember him and my heart is happy. I understand....because of Katherine Woods' translation of Le Petit Prince. It is as beautiful, profound and timeless today as it was over 70 years ago. -------------- NOTE: There is another publication by Wordsworth Classics:

Originally I read this as Le Petit Prince, I absolutely adore this book. I've started reading it to my kids. They love the pictures and the story is keeping their interest. There are words that they don't understand that require a moment to explain, but it isn't aimed at their age group anyways - I just see it as a learning lesson. The story is a classic and the kind of tale that every parent should read and learn to see the world through the eyes of a child.

I have often had trouble understanding "classics". This book is no different. Several times the narrator changes without clear warning, or perhaps, I just don't understand what the author is trying to do. The illustrations in the Kindle version are tiny requiring a good deal of distracted manipulation while trying to make them large enough to make sense of. The point appears to be the value of love, but many other authors have done far better jobs of that.

The translation is very poor. Seems like words are missing or maybe translated by someone that does not know the English language. I would recommend getting the paperback.

What a sweet story. One to read more than once. The translation to English makes it a little awkward to read. But that is part of its charm.

I'm the only member of our book club who didn't enjoy this - apparently I didn't understand it which is why I wasn't able to appreciate it properly. That might even be true, but even so: the book is not for me. To me it came across as aimless and meandering and often quite boring in spots. I'll go read up on what I missed and maybe try again, but my first impression wasn't a good one.

i read it just about every year and share it often. it speaks with gentle reference of love, friendship and priorities. charming, classic and well worth revisiting year after year.

Great book for all ages, I recommend it for everyone, if you are an adult it will make you think a lot!

there are just 18 chapters instead of 27 :( it shows that 100% is downloaded but the book ends on 18th chapter :( there are no other chapters, so there is not the end :(

This is the sweetest little book. It’s a quick read for adults but jam packed with themes related to human nature. Can’t wait to read it to my children.

First read this in the mid 1970s when I was in Berkeley A lovely story for all to read Thank you Little Prince 🌎 Thank you Kindle

This is perhaps my favourite book of all time. I have read it in French many many times (more than I could ever count) and bought this English language copy for my English-speaking boyfriend so that he could experience it as well. We took turns reading it to each other at night and he said it helped him understand me better as a person--this book has shaped me that much! A fantastic book for all ages.

I have enjoyed The Little Prince for a very long time, but I wanted some copies to introduce to my younger friends who are not acquainted with it. I also sent one to my cousin whose husband passed away suddenly. Those of you who have read it would understand why. I do think those of you who have not read it and are grieving the loss of someone or who know someone who is grieving such a loss would find comfort in the simplicity and sincerity communicated in such a special way.

A-MAZING introduction to existentialism; no need to wait until a child can read books on his/her own. The engaging pop-ups makes the unabridged text thoroughly interesting, even for pre-literate appreciation.

An amazing story. The cliche "stood the test of time" really applies here.The first time I read it was in French class in high school (many many years ago). I've read it again probably six times over my life and have enjoyed it every time. Good for ages 10 to whatever...

I read this to my children and most grown-ups could learn from this classic book.

This is an amazing classic that if you haven't read, you certainly should. I read this to my 3 year old at least once a month at bed time. If you have a small child that gets bored with the "baby" books, this is a very good length. Not too boring for mom either. The end is very sad with the little prince dying and leaving his body behind to go to his home planet. There is also a part in where the little prince meets a drunkard and since I'm not ready to explain what a drunkard is, I replace the word with lazy man as I am reading.

Tears. Actual tears. It’s so short yet so perfect. The quotes I have found in this book were profound and breathtaking. I think I just might have to read it again soon.

I have read this book several times since high school (thanks Mrs. Wilson) and decided to purchase an electronic copy for my kindle. For the most part the translation is okay. but there are a few wrong words that are just hard to over look and it kind of pulls you out of the story. I know that sounds weird for those of you that have read the little prince but yeah, it does. Anyway, read the book. Everyone should read this. Especially those of you that really get bogged down in their jobs. Great way to reset. :)

I read this book years ago and there are numerous quotes in it that I wanted to share one evening with a group. So, I just pulled it up on my Kendal and read them the story. Wow! I sure like being able to find my loved books to easily - going through the shelves of my library would have taken hours to find this particular book. Yes, It was still delightful. I am glad I now have it on my Kendall.

what a beautiful beautiful book to have as a keepsake. It's already a fantastic classic, but when you add the pop up illustrations, it just turns magical. My four year old and I are enjoying reading this so much, it's part of our night routine and in rotation with all of our other books. I highly recommend it to anyone, adult or child, to have in their collection.

The book was great. It’s hard for grown ups to understand so I don’t recommend it for them. The book is creative and I think you should follow the author, Antoine de Saint Exupery. The book had different word like aero plane and stuff that I really sometimes didn’t understand and had to look it up. But I recommended tie book especially if you’re a kid.

While The Little Prince title does not seem to fit in with the rest of the classic books in the Chiltern set, it's still a gorgeous book. It just looks a little funny on the shelf next to Jane Eyre!

I recommend everyone to read it. It gives you really good insights on how to appreciate your life and be better

It is a children story written for adults! I always heard nice things about it, but never read it. Then I got involved with a theater project that was based on the story, so I said to myself I got to read it now! And I was absolutely happy with that decision The translation was very smooth and well-edited

There are numerous typos and translation errors in this kindle version. Get the version that corresponds to the printed book.

I bought this book as a keepsake for my 9 year old daughter and I must say I am very disappointed at the quality of the artwork. It seems the ink was running and several of the lines are either too dark or not drawn at all: this really takes away from the book for me. For instance, 'the saddest landscape' is very faint and heard to see. From what I see here, the translation is also not as good as previous translations. I would suggest you look at a different edition

The last/first time I read Saint-Exupery's classic I was a college student. "Nice book," I thought. I liked the whimsical illustrations. Re-reading it today long after college, I discovered there is still much to be learned from it. This time around I get the wisdom. The lessons about friendship, what's valuable. What is "of consequence" or not so much. And I enjoy again/still the charming illustrations.

I am already a big fan of artful, well-designed pop-up books (ANYTHING by Robert Sabuda, Paper Engineer, is great). This book, however, is perhaps the best of my entire collection! The (English, not French) text is UNABRIDGED (a wonderful first for me) and the paper engineering is truly magical. You have my word you will be inspired and delighted each time you pick up this book. An excellent gift for adults and older, careful children, but please remember to purchase one for yourself -- you will NOT be sorry! Enjoy, Kathryn Fort Myers, FL

I buy this book all the time for gifts... I love it!

Horrible edition with glue in between pages. The pages we all extremely out of order and the translation was done very poorly with many typos or wrong word substations. Avoid buying this is unreadable.

The Kindle version reads like a machine translation. When several excellent translations exist, why, Amazon, why are you selling this junk version?

The Little Prince has been a classic for so long we don't feel we can add anything tha hasn't been said. It is so well written, so thoughtful, and such a peaceful read we recommend it to all ages. It definitely is not just a children's story, but one that both young nd old can enjoy and profit from. If you haven't read it, or just haven't read it lately, do so at once.

I love the book! I expected a small book with 4 or 5 pages, but has 64 pages with different types of pop ups on them, so well done and delicate. I bought it for my grandson, but I'll have to wait a few years to give it to him as it is not suitable for small hands. So... I bought the small version for children, and I think I will enjoy this version for quite a time. The book is supposed to be used, but actually only has a little damage from a fall on the cover. When I opened it, it seems not to have been previously opened. All pages are in excellent condition.

I didnt realize this is set in large type.

This has to be the most poignant book that I have yet to read. Many generations must have read The Little Prince and I feel sure the many more will have the same pleasure. I plan to read this book again tomorrow and perhaps again next month, hopefully again and again and.........

A beautiful edition of a beautiful story. Highly recommend!

This is my favorite childhood story and from many reviews heard that the woman's translation is much better than the more recent man's translation. Since there was limited availability on her translation, i narrowed it to this one. There is no jacket. But mostly, the black-and-white illustrations look like they've been copied from a copy, and previously copied from a copy. Lost detail. I told the recipient i would like to hand color and ink in the details on these illustrations and apologized for my bad choice and not having enough time to return it before the party. The paper is not high quality. The cover is okay, not what i was hoping for a classic book gift.

I didn't see any lessons coming out of the boy's discoveries. There didn't see to be an overarching theme. I thought is was tedious and random.

A fable of great truth, gracefully told (and drawn!) in human scale, that grows in the mind with every reading, The Little Prince leads us to ask better and larger questions of each other. I'd recommend it be read by parent and child together, periodically over at least a decade of the child's growth: it draws the reader from fable to philosophy, then back and forth, - and makes it clear that play is probably a better learning environment - for young and old alike - than is any formal classroom structure. I'm sorry to say I've no memory of any glimpse of the book before one of my later high school years, and only wish I had been introduced to it while still in elementary school. Drawn to books and reading before entering kindergarten, I was fortunate to have a parent who read to and with me early.

this is a beautiful book for a child to experience with an adult.....pop up books are a treat and the story is a wonderful expression of the eternal value of caring......this book was purchased to be a gift and i am sure it will be cherished.

This book is a treasure and every man, woman and child should read it!

This is a simple and wonderful mediation on finding meaning in life. I bought it to share with my kids, but after reading it I don't think I will read it with my young kids until they are much older. The Prince is depressive but learns to find meaning and joy in simple things in life. There are some great lessons here. But he premeditates his own death to be with his loved one and that's a tough one to explain to kids.

Very poor quality but it also very cheap

I have always loved the story of The Little Prince. But I just saw it staged at Lookingglass theatre in Chicago. The Sahara was a wide expanse of white that sloped down, plateaued, and continued to the stage floor. The pilot drew his boa constrictor, the sheep, the muzzle and other of the Little Prince's requests. The occupants of the other planets descended from the ceiling as if floating in space. We were transported into the magic of the story and all if it's messages. There will be six discussions in January and February. I will be there. Jean Unsworth, Chicago

I cannot stop raving about the sheer gorgeousness of this wonderful book, a favorite of mine for at least 40 years. This pop- up book is so cleverly and beautifully done, with little panels to open as well as the pop-ups themselves. Even if I had had to pay the full price for it, it would have been worth it....I am actually surprised that the full price was only $35 as the detailing is so extensive. This book will be treasured ---and read and re-read.

I agree with the French survey naming this as the greatest literature work of the 20th century. It is hard to qualify; but I would dare to say it is the most fabulous universal poetry work narrated as a short story. I have reading it since I was a kid, in this opportunity I wanted to have the kindle edition.

It was a gift to my dearest friend who had a Polish edition but had a difficult ly Purchased it for my dearest friend who had a Polish edition but had a difficulty with the tranlation, this edition matched perfectly with her edition. She was overjoyed with my gift.

This book gripped me from the 1st page to the last. There's one thing I hope you'll get from this book: that you can live your own way.

Delightful story

Perfecto llegó en una buena condición lo cual me preocupaba por los comentarios que daban,buen material realmente recomiendo el libro :))

One of the best books ever

Perfect for a baby shower gift. It's the perfect literary example of how to treat people well in life.

No color illustrations. But that makes sense with the budget price.

Bought my favorite book for my 11yr old niece. She loved it

My favorite Child hood book. A very insightful little children's book, written for adults! It is a must ready for everyone!

This book is probably best enjoyed by those with a solid mastery of French literature -- I would say perhaps two years of advanced college French. St.-Exupery isn't easy to read and those without a good grounding in French might enjoy him more with an English-French edition. The English edition also makes a great children's book selection for gifts for the holidays.

Tasty low calories snack.

I was so happy to find a copy to replace a very worn and yellowed with age copy. This is such an enchanting tale which emphasizes how love makes things real, more intense, more meaningful. .... value the people and moments of nature in your life. There are many passages and metaphors, comparisons in beautiful writing to be treasured.

The Kindle version was excellent. I was very happy that the drawings appeared in the chapters. It is a great joy to read.

Good read for people with varied imagination and wonder. Been a while since I read a book and glad I read this one.

This is a wonderful read. Children of all ages will love it!

My favorite book from childhood. It's such a magical story that really can't be described simply by the plot. There's such a deep meaning in it and I can't even write down all the lessons I've learned from the Little prince. Really, it's beautiful. And if you have a kid (or adult for that matter) who has a great imagination and is very curious about the world around them, then this is it.

This book was a childhood favorite of mine! The story is takes the reader on a journey as they learn about the Little Prince's small planet. Such a great deal too!

Review for Kindle version only: translation is terrible, very difficult to read.

This book looked like someone printed it I their garage. Horrible quality, had to return it. Makes me miss bookstores where you Can actually see the product before you buy!

The pop-up version is very well made. All the bits appear sturdy and they have really put thought into making each page to portray the story. The book itself is an excellent gift however, mine arrived with a red pen marking on the side. It's not a really big deal for me but that could be a serious flaw for people who collect books and etc. The seller needs to pay more attention to what is sent!

I would love to read it but sadly, I could not open or download it. My device has plenty of space and I have easily downloaded many other books. It was a childhood favorite which I had hoped to revisit.

I sure do like the book. I've never read it before in my life and I saw Le Petit Prince french book sitting when I took French in High School. I even heard about this when I was watching "Eloise and the Plaza". This was in large print and translated by Richard Howard. I didn't seem to mind about the large print.

It is the best reading material I have ever offered to quite a range of my students. The book is extremely entertaining by providing my students with visual examples,on the one hand; and supplying them with intricate content,on the other hand. Therefore, I achieved my goal: the students do not only enjoy reading the book, but also improve their language and their ability to decipher endless situations and implications. I wish I could find more books of this kind.

Classic

This book is really interesting and I really like it. The only bad thing is that when I received it the spine of the book was dented in lots of places, and the back cover was bent a little. Other than that I thought this book was pretty good.

An ok book. Not as great as the reviews say. The book is easy and quick to read and talks about a prince from outer space traveling to different planets and ends on earth in the desert

This little book is for all ages (even for the grown-ups), and everyone would have different sentimental understanding for one’s age. The essential thing is invisible unless you would see it with your heart. Love to read it again and again...

This is a wonderful story, all by itself! With the pop-up possibility, it now becomes "magical"!!!

This book was rated as in "very good condition." Six of the pop-ups were torn or had missing pieces, and the binding was all dented up. Very disappointed. Unable to gift as planned.

Great story from a crappy printing copy. Small and smudged font, oversized book -- even the cover doesn't line up with the edges. Find a better copy the low-quality bn publishing garbage sold by Amazon.

Read this as a kid, and decided to read again! Marvelous! The message is timeless. The book itself is very short and a fast read. Would suggest to anyone, especially those who want to remember their childhood as well.

The book quality is less than good. Some of the illustrations are distorted because it's in black and white. Then my mail man crammed it in the mailbox, causing some damage. It's still the book I ordered so I can make do.

Don't buy this kindle version. The translation is incoherent.

I obviously heard about the book growing up but never read it until now in my 30's. What prompted me to do so was actually watching the movie on Netflix and I'm glad I did. It's a good way to get some perspective on life so that you are not caught up in the rat race. Although I can't say I'm thrilled with the ending I appreciated the uniqueness of the book.

Love it! So pure, so wise... So many lessons learned, the inspiration to be curious and better, the reminder that great pleasure can be found in small simple things.

Super cute book

Perfect on time great condition too!

I definitely get why this book is $29, I’m so happy we found it here at goodwill for so cheap. It looks like new

My son will be the third generation to read this master book! French, of course!

It's the same amazing tale I remember from when I was a young adult, when I came across it in a bookstore. I read the whole volume in one sitting, both now and back then. I have given it only 4 stars because of the typos/misspellings and text issue. To spell "naive" as "nad've"? And there is text missing from near the end of Chapter 25.

The Little Prince is my little brother's favorite book and I managed to get this before he found out about its release. Needless to say it was a huge hit. This is the most beautiful pop-up book I have ever seen. Each pages pops are ingenious and interesting. This already amazing story really comes to new life in this wonderful edition, buy it right now!

Exactly what we wanted. The shipping took a long time because it came from the UK to the US. It is a beautiful story that can be read on different levels. A small child can understand the literal sense of the story, and young adults and older can understand the metaphors and deeper meanings.

It's inspirational and makes you think of what's important Love the part when he said that men have 5thousand flowers and still don't find what they are looking for because they aren't looking with their heart

Wonderful, thought provoking, beautiful. The Little Prince issue every thing they say it is. I'm planning to re-read this as soon as I learn more about the book from commentaries.

Short chapter book. Came in perfect condition.

Maybe it was the translation (which was rough and awkward) but I thought this was just ok. Not terrible, but also not great.

Es un regalo para una sobrina

My favorite book since childhood. I've read it in French and Portuguese. Unfortunately, it loses a lot of meaning with the English translation. It's an easy read but a book for those who like to reflect and see beyond what is. Every time I read this book I leave with something good.

Love The Little Prince and have loved it ever since I was first introduced to it at age 17 or 18. Such wonderful insights and clever ways of stating the insights. This version has beautifully made pop - ups to illustrate it all, while still using the drawings of Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Mikkel Pitzner, Serial Entrepreneur, multiple best-selling author and author of the forth coming book: "The Automated Millionaire"

I reread this book every year. It's also a book I like to gift. It's a good book for adults to read to children because the adults need to hear the message more than the children!

Es una narración hermosa. Vincula emocionalmente y ayuda a reflexionar sobre muchos aspectos de la vida, la forma en que se comportan los adultos, la manera en que nos relacionamos y lo verdaderamente importante.

A book every adult should read.

This story is something else, it is just so amazing. This is a truly timeless tale, please, dont go up to this book and say "Oh its some stupid childrens book" PLEAASE dont, this book has so much symbolism, heart, and thought that everyone can enjoy this one. I just cant explain why it is so good, it is something you have to experience for yourself.

Great price, perfect condition!

Very poorly written! I guess it should have been a clue when I noticed the author's name wasn't spelled correctly before I even purchased it. Many, many misspellings, missing content, grammer errors, etc. A TOTAL waste of money!! The Little Prince is one of my all-time favorite books and I really wanted it on my iPad to read and reread. I have already deleted it. I'm actually thinking of typing it in Pages (an Apple program much like MS Word), scanning the pictures and saving it to a file I can put on my iPad. Cumbersome? Yes, but it will be a major improvement over the Kindle version. Don't waste YOUR money like I did ... fair warning!!!

This book is a classic, but get a different translation. This one is awkward, confusing at times, and sloppy -- basic grammatical errors.

Great read for anyone, great way to reflect on oneself vs your typical self help book. Great little tips on looking at life

It looks like someone pasted the French text into Google Translate and published this book as-is. A lot of it doesn't even make sense. It should be removed from the Kindle store.

I'm so glad I purchased this book...love that it is a 1st edition translated by Katherine Woods. The book was in good condition showing only some wear that can easily be attributed to its age and having been loved. It arrived in a timely manner, too.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I don't regret reading it by any stretch of the imagination. Some of the language is beautiful. But I was left with a feeling of discontent.

At the very first passage of the book, I was hooked. The author just let you in his world and imagination. When talking about little Prince, I had an expectation that the book be a light-hearted story, but this book illustrates the most adult decision ever written.

The Little Prince is a treasure of a book, it's one that can truly be called a classic. The simple, elegant narrative contains true wisdom and reveals more with each read. I read this in one sitting at a coffee shop without looking up. That is how absorbing this little wonder is. Read it.

Sweet story. I want to read it again...a second time. I want to know the message better. So much to understand.

Love this book. I've never read it, so I thought I'd get it. I gave it a Four. Only reason I didn't five it 5 stars, as it's a little outdated.

Wanted to buy this for my daughter for the last couple of years but didn't due to the price. Finally took the plunge this year and it was a nice choice. She'll love it forever. It'll be a nice keepsake for her own children someday.

Excellent translation!!! One of the best book for children.