Tolog Review: The Little Prince

The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
reviewed by Alyssa Adriano

Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince is a literary fiction novel following the story of a Little Prince who lives alone on a petite planet containing only three small volcanoes and one special flower. On his journey, the Little Prince unexpectedly lands on Earth and meets a pilot stranded in the Sahara Desert. The two explorers become friends, and we are immediately pulled into a world about the Little Prince’s recent travels to different planets prior to arriving on Earth. Along the way, the Little Prince teaches the stranded pilot many life lessons which we can also relate to in our daily lives. 

Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote The Little Prince from the point of view of the stranded pilot, and consequently, we are aware only of the pilot’s thoughts. However, a majority of the novel tells us about the prince’s experiences as he converses with our narrator, the pilot. Through these conversations, we find hidden meanings and truths which we can use in our daily lives. Although de Saint-Exupery conveys many deep, hidden messages in The Little Prince, he wrote the beautiful novel in such a way that innocent, young children also can read it and imagine a little prince on his own planet, while teenagers and adults can read deeper into the text to find inspiring life lessons. 

The Little Prince is certainly more than just a petite novel with little illustrations weaved throughout the text. When you think deeply about each and every word in the novel, you will realize how thoughtful and powerful such a tiny book really is. When I first began to read this novel, I was immediately intrigued by the Little Prince’s innocence which reminded me of how innocent my younger cousins are. I began to think of the contrast between adults and children in my own life and compared that to the pilot and the Little Prince. De Saint Exupery notes that children have bigger imaginations and more wisdom than many adults do which has inspired me keep my mind open to all ideas and to always be imaginative -- no matter how old I become.   

Tolog Review: The Little Prince

The Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
reviewed by Christina Costanzo 

In Antoine De Saint-Exupéry’s book, The Little Prince, a child shares his knowledge about the importance of life with an adult. The story begins with the adult sharing his experience as a child. In the beginning the man recalls a time in his childhood when he drew a snake eating an elephant. Because of a lack of imagination, the reaction from the adults was dull and discouraging. Now as an adult himself, the man encounters a child called the Little Prince. The Little prince tells the man of his experiences with other adults. He doesn’t understand why adults lack imagination and focus more on materialistic things, such as looks and wealth. The Little Prince teaches the man that the important things in life are simpler than one would think. He shows him that with a little imagination one can truly obtain happiness in life.

Although this book may seem childish, I loved it and believe that it gets a good message across. Antoine De Saint-Exupéry captivates you with the intriguing character of the Little Prince. I feel like I can relate to both the man and the Little Prince in this story. Although I am still a child, I can still look back to when I was younger and think of when I felt no adult could understand me. But, I can also relate now when I can get caught up in school and my social life. I can become so distracted and I care so much about more materialistic things. I appreciate the way the Little Prince portrays the message that a little imagination can go a long way.

Tolog Review: The Little Prince

The Little Prince

by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

reviewed by Carisa Joyner

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s poetic novel The Little Prince tells of a young boy leaving his small planet to travel the universe and see what else is out there. He discovers the odd behaviors of other planet inhabitants and begins to question the conduct of these adults. He finally stumbles upon Earth, and meets some new friends such as a fox and a snake, and even a pilot. As he gets to know the pilot that was stranded in the desert, he tells the pilot of his discoveries from exploring the universe through stories. This novel speaks of the lessons we can learn from the young children we come across, no matter how small the lessons may be.

This book is told from the view of the adult pilot, but is seen through the eyes of the Little Prince. This gives the reader a fresh perspective on what children find illogical in adult behavior and how we must cherish the experiences and things we love rather than put them to waste. I really enjoyed reading this book because it offered different stories of discovering what is true. The Little Prince’s innocence and search for truth is so beautiful to me because it reminds me of my own childhood. As a young child, I had always questioned what was going on around me in order to find out what was right and what was wrong. I think that anyone that reads this book will have some sort of connection to it because of the fact that it may remind them of their own childhood. Overall, The Little Prince is full of creative and imaginative characters with a plot that connects to the human soul on a deeper level.

Tolog Review: The Little Prince

The Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
reviewed by Francesca Christensen

The Little Prince, a book, by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry, told the story of a pilot stranded in the Sahara Desert and a little boy, known as “the little prince,” who teaches him what is truly important in life. The lonely pilot, in danger of dying of dehydration, wakes up to a small boy asking him to draw him a sheep. Confused, the pilot complies to this strange request and the pair’s relationship begins. The little prince soon reveals that he does not live on Earth, but a different planet “hardly bigger than a house” (De Saint-Exupéry 9). He shares his experiences of his journey to the other surrounding planets and as a child conveys judicious lessons to both the pilot and the readers. The little prince’s curious, persistent nature allows him to question happiness, material possessions, and the role of adults in society. Through his story we are able to see that the most valuable things in life may not be obvious, palpable, material items, but instead the aspects in life that can’t be seen, the ones that have to be left to the imagination.

The Little Prince a very profound story, captivated me from the beginning. The odd, but extraordinary young boy’s strange character intrigued me and left me wondering his story. De Saint-Exupéry’s skillful character development prevented all of the pilot’s questions about the little prince from being answered, leaving him a mystery. This forced the readers to think deeply about The little prince and his role in the pilot’s life. As the wise young boy said “whether it’s a house or the stars or the desert, what makes makes them beautiful is the invisible!” (68) which is not only expressed throughout the book, but in the little prince himself as well. The roles of adults and children also interested me. Throughout the book, adults were depicted as boring, serious, and lacking the ability to understand while the little prince, as a child, wield wisdom and experience. This idea contrasts the roles of children and adults today which appear almost reversed. This story demonstrates the worth of children’s imagination and their ability to see beyond material items. I recommend this book to people of all ages. Although it seems like a children’s book because of the simple language and pictures, the message it conveys speaks to all generations. No matter the age of the reader a lesson can always be learned from this timeless tale.