The Little Prince (Wordsworth Children's Classics) [Paperback]

You could be excused for thinking that this book is one containing a simple story for young children about a Little Prince. How wrong you would be! This is far from the truth: it is much more. It is a complex story containing lots of ambiguities about a child with golden hair. These are all eruditely discussed before the actual story begins, in a section entitled "How It All Began". "Is The Little Prince a story written for children or is it a meditation intended for adults?"

The Art of Living is discussed, along with a system of values, and the train of thought behind them is the unifying element. You are invited to "look at the book, and allow yourself to travel from one image to the next... " It was written and published more than 50 years ago in the USA, and the author was a Frenchman who illustrated the book himself; it was later translated by Kathryn Woods. The Little Prince is still very popular and has now been translated into many languages. Shortly after it was first written, the author died--disappearing together with his plane somewhere over the Mediterranean. This Gift edition contains all the original illustrations, plus some more original drawings that came to light later and have been published here for the first time.--Susan Naylor

I would like to recommend [...] the wonderful new translation by Ros and Chloe Schwartz of this modern classic.
--Francofil online forum --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The Little Prince is a classic tale of equal appeal to children and adults. On one level it is the story of an airman's discovery, in the desert, of a small boy from another planet - the Little Prince of the title - and his stories of intergalactic travel, while on the other hand it is a thought-provoking allegory of the human condition. First published in 1943, the year before the author's death in action, this translation contains Saint-Exupery's delightful illustrations.

There is a great deal of confusion over the different versions of The Little Prince on the Amazon website. When you click on "see inside" my translation (The Collectors Library edition)the book opens onto the Katherine Woods version. These books are very different and it is misleading for customers. Similarly the reviews are all jumbled. There are 4 different translations: Katherine Woods, Irene Testot-Ferry, Richard Howard's and my own. Please ensure that the reviews relate to the right versions and that 'see inside' also relates to the correct version to avoid misrepresentation under the trades description act, and breach of copyright. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Translated by Roz Schwarz, with an Afterword by David Staurt Davies. The black and white illustrations are by the author. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.