The Little Prince

The book has been translated into many languages from the original French version. It was also made into a play and a movie, and the children's cable channel Nickelodeon in America ran a cartoon series in the mid-80s based upon the prince, his rose, and his adventures.

Its one of my favourite books of all time, and as much as it may appear to be a children's book, the dedication very correctly asks you that it be read by adults too. Among the many quotable quotes it has, it asks of us not only to reclaim the innocence of our youth but also exposes to us some of the things which are truly important in our lives. But really, I can't say enough about it here, you will understand all by reading it. Also, I suggest finding a paper copy, as blaaf's posting of the entire text cannot offer you the author's own illustrations, which greatly enhance this beautiful story.

The book is also an inspiration for Depeche Mode's Violator album.

Note: The full text with scanned illustrations is available here:
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/littleprince/introduction.html
(until it is removed for copyright violation, please let me know if the link is dead, I will remove/change it)

Not only is it a wonderful book, but you can get a CD-Rom (Mac or WIndows) from www.Tivola.com

It is enchanting, keeping entirely in the spirit of the original: child-like, poetic, romantic and just beautiful.

You can hear the text read by Kenneth Branagh, and watch the pages turning as you do so. As an extra, there are Flash/Macromedia animations on almost every page.

Beyond that, however, you can explore all the worlds portrayed in the book, from the Geographer to the King, and of course, Asteroid B-612, where you can look after the Rose, clean out the volcanos and watch for Baobabs.

Best of all, you can come to Earth and try to befriend the fox. And believe me, you need real patience to do that. I have to say, my children have not been enchanted by it, but I am completely in love with the program.

We have a lot of so-called childrens' software at home, and this one really stands out. It is clear, to me at least, that the person who created it really, really cares about the book. I kind of imagine that if Saint-Exupéry were around today, then this is the way he would have published it. It adds more dimensions to the story, and takes nothing away from your imagination. Nothing.

If you love the book, I'd say buy the software. At the very least, download the free sample. And the quality of the website might give you an inkling of the care that has been put into the book.

Enjoy!