Few books have been as universally cherished as 'The Little Prince', the haunting, lyrical fable that explores the very meaning of life. Rediscover the beloved story that begins with a simple picture and blossoms into a spellbinding adventure. At first glance, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's 1943 classic 'The Little Prince'—with its winsome illustrations of a boy prince and his tiny planet—appears to be a children’s fairy tale. It doesn't take long, however, to discover that it speaks to readers of all ages. A great read for teens, features Saint-Exupéry’s original full-color illustrations and the unabridged text.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, officially Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry, was a French aristocrat, writer, poet, and pioneering aviator during a period when flying machines were made of sticks and fabric. He became a laureate of several of France's highest literary awards and also won the U.S. National Book Award. He is best remembered for his novella The Little Prince and for his lyrical aviation writings, including Wind, Sand and Stars and Night Flight.

Saint-Exupéry was a successful commercial pilot before World War II, working airmail routes in Europe, Africa and South America. At the outbreak of war, he joined the French Air Force, flying reconnaissance missions until France's armistice with Germany in 1940. After being demobilised from the French Air Force, he travelled to the United States to persuade its government to enter the war against Nazi Germany. Following a 27-month hiatus in North America, during which he wrote three of his most important works, he joined the Free French Air Force in North Africa, although he was far past the maximum age for such pilots and in declining health.

With an introduction by Kate Mosse
Translated by Ros Schwartz

All grown-ups were children once (but most of them have forgotten).

A pilot who has crash landed in the desert awakes to see an extraordinary little boy. 'Please,' asks the stranger, 'will you draw me a little lamb!' Baffled by the little prince's incessant questioning, the pilot pulls out his pencil, and starts to draw. As the little prince's curiosity takes them further on their journey together, the pilot is able to piece together an understanding of the tiny planet from which the prince has come and of his incredible travels across the universe.

First published in 1943, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry has been translated into more than 250 languages, becoming a global phenomenon. Heart-breaking, funny and thought-provoking, it is an enchanting and endlessly wise fable about the human condition and the power of imagination. A book about both childhood and adulthood, it can be read as a parable, a war story, a classic children's fairy-tale, and many more things besides: The Little Prince is a book for everyone; after all, all grown-ups were children once.

'The Little Prince moves from asteroid to desert, from fable and comedy to enigmatic tragedy, in order to make one recurrent point: You can't love roses. You can only love a rose' Adam Gopnik, New Yorker

Französische Originalausgabe

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's timeless tale, reissued in a beautiful clothbound edition designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry first published The Little Prince in 1943, only a year before his plane vanished over the Mediterranean during a reconnaissance mission. Nearly eighty years later, this fable of love and loneliness has lost none of its power.

The narrator is a downed pilot in the Sahara Desert, frantically trying to repair his wrecked plane. His efforts are interrupted one day by the apparition of a little prince, who asks him to draw a sheep. "In the face of an overpowering mystery, you don't dare disobey," the narrator recalls. "Absurd as it seemed, a thousand miles from all inhabited regions and in danger of death, I took a scrap of paper and a pen out of my pocket." And so begins their dialogue, which stretches the narrator's imagination in all sorts of surprising, childlike directions.

Other bilingual and single language editions (see link http://smarturl.it/Saint-Exupery )

New edition: 30 April 2016

More about The Little Prince

« J’en ai fait mon ami, et il est maintenant unique au monde. »

La merveilleuse histoire du Petit Prince à partager avec son enfant. Les aquarelles originales et un texte adapté pour découvrir l’univers tendre et poétique du Petit Prince.