Rating: 
Summary: CLASSIC!
Review: Reading level is ages 9-12? I don't think so! I think a senile person on the border of death would get something out of this book! Like Alice in Wonderland, this "kid" classic has more moving beneath its surface than many "adult" novels that I've read. It would disintegrate John Grisham's entire corpus just in the space of one page! Antoine de Saint-Euxpery first published this book in 1943 and since then it has been translated into a zillion languages, because like music, the language of Prince is universal. The plot is pretty straightforward. The author, a famous aviator, has mechanical trouble with his plane and is forced to land in the Sahara Desert a thousand miles from civilization. That is until a young boy approaches him out of the blue and asks him to draw a sheep for him. Sound surreal? Childhood IS surreal! Page by page, the pilot learns of the past of The Little Prince. Don't expect reality here. The Little Prince lived on a small asteroid named B-612. So small, in fact that he could see 44 sunsets simply by moving a few steps every couple of minutes. He longed to explore and so was carried by a flock of birds to Earth. The Little Prince has all the form of a parable or a fable, a tale that is meant to convey deeper thoughts than its superficial attributes. There are thoughts in this book on love, relationships, the emptiness of a life without either, death, spirituality, capitalism, in general, the souless existence of the adult world. I'm sure this book could be a doctoral thesis for a future professor somewhere. I will come back to this book to explore some mysteries many more times in my life, I think. Seek it out. Richard Howard is one of the greatest translators of our time. He only improves the English version of this great book.
Rating: 
Summary: FIVE STAR BOOK NOW ONLY AVAILABLE IN MEDIOCRE TRANSLATION
Review: This new Richard Howard translation is a travesty when compared with the translation by Katherine Woods that publisher Harcourt, Inc. has replaced. Howard has reduced the text to its lowest common denominator which the publisher calls "streamlined" and "new and improved". I call it impoverished and completely devoid of charm. I can't imagine what the publishers were thinking when they chose to replace the classic translation which beguiled us all during its 57 years in print and am reminded of Coca Cola's "New Coke" fiasco...an error which was quickly remedied. The ONLY positive comment I can make is that the color illustrations in the paperback edition are an improvement on the black & white illustrations of its paperback predecessor.
The only good news is that you can still obtain used copies of the Woods translation at Amazon or your local used book shop. Look for the white cover and a publication date prior to the year 2000.
Rating:
Summary: A great book for kids and adults
Review: I have read and reread this book for several years, and I like it better each time. Each time, I discover new insights, bits of wisdom and nuggets of humor. Take it at whatever level you wish...a children's fable or a deep piece of philosophy. You can't go wrong. It makes a great gift, for those who have never read it. They will thank you for introducing them to it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Tale of The Rose Ruined This Book for Me
Review: I bought this book a few years ago and loved it. St. Ex was no doubt an interesting man. I adored his little rose and couldn't wait to read The Tale of the Rose. I just read it and I have deeper insight into this story that I'd have rather not seen. St. Ex was a philanderer. In the Little Prince, he refers to The Rose being sad because she is aware that he has been seeing other roses-- he did that throughout their marriage-- for almost the entire 13 years they were married. He was into conquoring The Rose as a Little Prince and basically forgetting about her except to get with her briefly-- less than 24 hours in some cases-- and then leave again. The Little Prince almost seems like a glaze-over and justification for St.Ex's ways. I gave it three stars because it's a sweet story. It's not somehow autobiographical as I had initially thought.
Rating:
Summary: A thought-provoking children's story to enjoy for a lifetime
Review: I am not sure how I can best explain this book, and how I can exprime the emotions it causes in me. I read it first a number of years ago in French, and ever since then it was been my staple gift for people - anyone who does not have a copy of The Little Prince, I promptly spend the nine dollars it costs me so that more people can understand its beauty. Its like I have a circle of effect around me in which everyone has read The Little Prince because of my influence.
I cannot praise it enough. It is a children's story with layers, and adults can enjoy the more philosophical portions of it. For a children's book, it is sad. I have read it out loud a number of times and I always choke up at the end, as well as my listener. The story is touching and memorable, melancholy but optimistic. And every time after you read it (especially if it is with your child), you can go out at night and look up at the stars and ask, "Has the sheep eaten the flower?" And you will see how this book can make everything change!
I cannot suplicate you enough to permit yourself the pleasure of reading this story!
Rating:
Summary: You make the story...
Review: This story is beautiful because it can be both cherished by a child and an adult, although most adults believe that they receive more out the story than a child. This is not true a child will see it one way while an adult will see it another. It is written in a style to where it can be seen in whatever direction one might want to interpret it, and even those who want to take it literally can as well and still find it a good story.
Overall it is an easy read maybe for an adult can read it within a day, its elegant and one won't find themsleves lost on what is being said. If one wants to find the deeper meaning must realize each character encounter is important, take a moment and relate it and how you may want to see them thats up to you.
I recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A book for grown-ups
Review: Antoine de Saint-Exupery's book is often thought to be a children's novel, and I admit, when my class and I started reading it, we all thought it was a bit below our level of reading. Nothing could be further from the truth. Saint-Exupery's tale shows what we all lost when we made the transition from child to adult, when we got involved in "matters of consequence" and stopped using our imaginations. I would highly reccommend this book to anyone who misses seeing the good in the world. This book showed me that innocence can still be found in such a world of corruption and violence, we just need to know where to look for it. If you have children, are around them, or are just a child at heart, this is a book that you need to read. It raises the question as to whether children are really cute and naieve, or if we as adults merely forgot to look at the drawing close enough. It is a tale of friendship, imagination, and love. After reading this book, I doubt anyone can look up at the stars and not smile.
Rating:
Summary: Human frailties exaggerated to absurdity
Review: It starts with a little boy trying to draw an elephant that has been swallowed by a giant snake. Everyone said his sketch looked like a hat, so instead of becoming an artist, the boy became a pilot. His plane crashes in the desert and as he tries to repair it, a little prince arrives and asks him to draw a sheep. The prince lives on a small asteroid, one of many that he can visit, and each one contains a person with an exaggerated human characteristic.
There is the one with a single flower, another with a King who rules the entire planetoid universe, and demands absolute obedience. However, he is very careful to never utter a command that cannot be obeyed, so he is in many ways a wise ruler. Another has only a conceited man, who believes all others admire him. There is a businessman on another, whose entire life is spent counting and adding the stars. A lamplighter, which has been given the order to light the lamp at dusk and extinguish it at dawn, is on another asteroid. Since the asteroid is small, the night only lasts a minute, so the lamplighter does nothing but light the lamp and then turn it off. A geographer resides on another, but all he does is write down what the explorers describe to him. He considers it beneath his station to actually examine the universe himself to see if it conforms to his maps. A drunk resides on another, and the reason he drinks is to forget his shame in drinking.
This is a delightful story, suitable for children and adults. Interwoven with the fantasy, there is a great deal of satire at human, especially adult foibles. Each of the inhabitants of an asteroid is a person with an exaggerated human weakness. While their world is physically very small, their minds are as well, and in the end, the main character learns much about what really matters in life.
Rating:
Summary: Serious? Which is more Serious?
Review: I've been told that this book is very valuable and from watching the movie 'Eloise', I just jump to the chance of buying this. Such a slim book for invoking deep thoughts. Simple language yet indepth meaning even if you don't have a clue who Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was (The Little Prince is thought to be a disguised autobigraphy).
Open with the tale of a child trying to communicate his thought to adults (his parents) by drawing a boa constrictor from outside and inside. How he had problem to explain it, his conclusion that adults need more explanation about things than children who knew them by heart and the ending of his artistic debut (this part was a witty one, makes you ask yourself, who are you? an ignorant adult, who needs much explanation, or a child, who understand things by heart).
And then, when this child grown to be a pilot (after cut from his artist one), he crashed his plane into a dessert. In the middle of nowhere, came a little child, in grand apparel like a prince, asking to draw him a sheep! Bewildered, he draw it, with a few attempts, since his only drawing ever was the boa constrictor. Then the tale of the little prince (the pilot named him because the child had never answer any questions he asked nor gave him any name) began.
There is one part about stars near the end which touch me so deeply though I don't really feel right about the little prince's decision in the end since it did not reflect the creativity by which he came to Earth.
Overall, read it and find what the really serious matters are in your life.
Rating:
Summary: A Book to Read for a Lifetime
Review: This book gets 6 stars! Antoine de SaintExupery, though writing at a level at which children can comprehend the plot, delves deep into a social and psychological discussion regarding the human experience. He has a profound understanding of the way 'adults' (modern society) incorrectly view the world, its citizens, and what they have to offer. Lessons taught by this book range from personal relationships to business, touching on the subjects of guilt, greed, power, and love. While all of these topics are thoroughly discussed, you never feel as if you're being lectured or hit over the head with symbolism. So much is buried between the lines that one reading of this book will not suffice to gain the infinite wisdom it possesses. Read it as a coming-of-age story for society: once every few years for the rest of your life. This simple, 96 page story about a little boy speaks volumes louder than you could imagine.
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