Customer Reviews

Le Petit Prince (French Language Edition)

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was given this book to read for a high school French class, and I'm so glad I did. (If you're by some fluke reading this, Coop, thanks so much for introducing me to "Le petit prince"!) It may be classified here as "children's" literature, but it's so much more. This is a beautiful, moving story of the little prince and his journeys through planets and on Earth. It contains some incredibly deep philosophy and will make you appreciate the simplicity and innocence of childhood... and make you want to regain that outlook on life. I know that I'm trying to see the world as a child again.

...Et si vous pouvez lire ce livre en français, c'est beaucoup plus beau. Le livre en anglais n'est pas mal, mais il n'y a pas l'élégance.

I do not read a lot of books. I have only read what was assigned to me throughout school and the occasional NY Times bestseller. A friend of mine gave me this book as a gift one day, she said I would enjoy it. She was right - I loved it. I didn't read it right away, but when I did I couldn't put it down. I am not an emotional person, or at least I never thought of myself as one, but this book made me look at myself and it broke my heart. I related with the character of the pilot and I felt as though the Little Prince was talking to me. The book helped me realize that I had forgotten a lot of things since childhood, like the meaning of friendship. The book also reminded me of what love really is. It made me realize what "grown-ups" really are, children who lost their innocence. The greatest thing about the book is that it is universal. It's message is simple: "love has no prejuducies, never dies and always forgives." It is a children's story but it is something all adults should read. There are few books that can do what this "children's story" can do. It will make you laugh, break your heart and make you think about what really is important in your life.

- Jeff

'Le petit prince' is a fabulous book that talks about a little prince that loves his planet and takes the advice of his flower which seems to him the most beautiful rose. But a fox that he meets teaches him the most important secret of all life: and that is that you see the real things with your heart and not your eyes, that your eyes only hide the true beauty of being alive. Just by looking at a person you can't tell who they are. You have to become friends and look with your heart to see what is really in front of you and what you are missing. The world would be a better place if people looked with their hearts and not their eyes; and by reading the little prince's story, 'Le petit prince' will you come to know this. It is a touching story that taught me a lot about this world. Read it.

This book was one of my favorites as a child...it is surreal, sweet, and teaches a valuable lesson on love. The story of lost and rediscovered love is one of the most pure and true things ever written.

In this, the French (original) language version, that purity seems even more clear. It was one of my first "real books" to translate as a young student of French, but it holds up to me as an adult, in both languages.

Illustrated with lovely and simple pictures of the Prince and his rose, this French language book is a must for Francophones of all ages. The English translation edition is a must for everyone else!

When I was eight years old, my parents game this book saying it is a great book for children. I started reading it and quit after I had reached the third chapter. It was too boring for an eight-year old child. Well, now I'm 23 I decided to give the book one more chance and... I loved it! In spite of what most people say about 'Le Petit Prince' (including Saint-Exupery himself on the book's preface), this is not a book "pour les petits". It is too philosofical for children. The book is about growing older and how grown-ups loose their innocence during this process. It is about how clumsy adults do become. 'Le Petit Prince' depicts the nature of human behaviour by means of a worderful fable. A pilot with engine problems in his aircraft is forced to land in the middle of Sahara desert where he meets Le Petit Prince, a mysterious child who had just arrived from his tiny lonely planet in search of friends. During his trip to Earth, Le Petit Prince meets several unusual characters. Each of them reveals something about the nature of adults. The pilot (an adult himself) is much disconcerted in realising he has something to learn with the child-prince, who has a naïve look upon people the pilot had long lost.

When I first read this book when I was a senior in high school and read it for my French class, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this book. I'd heard so much about it. After reading it I can say that I love this book so much, no wonder Le Petit Prince is on some French currency! I've read this book in English and French, and I'd have to say that the French is sooo much better if you know French. It's not all that difficult to understand if you are at a beginning level. This is a great book and is worth every penny in both languages!

I have the French copy of "Le Petit Prince" and have been using it to improve my vocabulary. I was disappointed to find out after receiving this audio tape that it is only 40 minutes long, and thus quite a bit of the text is cut out. Roughly the original text is 15,000 words and the transcription (included with the tape) is under 6,000 words. I understand that the use of different voices for different characters can replace some descriptive phrases, but entire dialogs are missing, and some are changed. For example, when the Prince first asks for the drawing of a sheep, the pilot draws a picture of an elephant inside a boa constrictor (which had baffled his parents when he was young) and the Prince immediately recognizes it. This was one of the funniest parts, but it is left out.

The voices are fine, sometimes a bit fast for a beginner, and the music is nice. If anyone knows of a full-length version where the French speaker is very clear and not too fast, I'd love to hear about it - dparsavand@yahoo.com.

Le Petit Prince, published more than half a century ago, endures into the twenty-first century as a beautifully written children's novel and a powerful philosophic work that speaks volumes about love and friendship. Written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery during World War II, Le Petit Prince was published as a children's story, but soon became recognized the world over as a profound introspective statement. By using the novel as a type of allegory, Saint-Exupery was able to write a commentary on life as he had lived it. The novel takes readers on a fantastic journey through the universe that, by the end, will have even the most hardened soul in tears.
The novel, although simply written, is not simple in style or in taste. Saint-Exupery uses powerful metaphors, similes, and analogies to address the very abstract themes of love and friendship. By personifying many of the personality traits that make up a true friend, Saint-Exupery makes these complicated issues so simple that even a child could understand. This is, of course, what Saint-Exupery had in mind all along.
I loved Le Petit Prince and have read many of my favorites parts to members of my family and just about anyone else who will listen. That is the magic of this novel. Beautifully written and illustrated, it will have you coming back to relive the adventures of the little prince time and time again. Through the eyes of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, this often-troubling world becomes a universe filled with the possibilities of true friendship and lasting love.

Au premier lecteur de ce conte, on comprend une belle histoire d'un petit garcon qui fait un voyage epatant. Helas! au fond de ce conte se trouve une histoire de laquelle on se rappelle l'importance de la vie, l'amitie et fidelite, et la responsalite que l'on a vers notre planete. On se rend compte de la beaute de l'enfance, et que meme les adultes, nous devrions garder l'enfance qui se cache dans nos coeurs.

I read this book in its portuguese version when I was stil living in Brazil (my home land); french, when I started learning it as well as spanish . Despite all "nuances" of each language the book keeps its majesty. Everytime I read it I think it was not written for children. In Le Petit Prince, St. Exupery made life wonderful, beyond comprehension.