Le Petit Prince goes graphic.
Originally published in 1943 The Little Prince is a most beloved novella about a young boy who decides to see the world after living alone so long on his planet. The original book was written and illustrated by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and since original publication it has been translated into over 190 languages, has sold over 80 million copies and has been made into a couple of feature films.
Now I never actually knew that the book existed until university, where my roommate had a tattoo of the illustration of the little prince. So seeing that she had such an affinity for him I decided to check the book out. Wow – it was a pretty quick read but I was amazed at how emotional and how great of an impact this book had. I was totally blown away. In fact I was happy that I had not read it as a child since I may not have understood the book or related to its topics and themes.
Now as a person who works with books I am thrilled to see that a graphic novel version of this book has been published. Joann Sfar is the artist who has adapted the original text with his stunning illustrations. I cannot say enough positive things about this book. While I am a fan of the original, this graphic novel adaptation did not let me down. In fact it rather impressed me.
The artwork is beautiful with an amazing attention to detail, and it follows the original storyline and stays true to its themes while making it much more accessible and visual than the original. Reading this adaptation was like reading it again for the first time. I found myself impacted and moved by the beauty of both the words and the images.
I highly recommend this read to anyone who has ever read the original, but also to anyone who appreciates graphic novels.
24 thoughts on “Le Petit Prince goes graphic.”
“Le Petit Prince” is one of my favourite books! Each time I read it I find that there’s always something new and insightful that I hadn’t noticed before. I haven’t yet read the English version, but maybe I should check out both the English translation and the graphic novel… They both seem like they would be really fun to read!
The Little Prince sounds interesting and its really popular. maybe i should try to read it.
This seems cool. Is it a childrens book though?
I loved this book when my mom read it to me as a kid, and when I read it again in university, and again when I read it just recently after a friend reminded me how good it is… it’s one of those books that’s good at any age… it’ll have different meaning for you each time you read it.
This definitely sounds like a classic. I will put it on hold right away!
I have read “Le Petit Prince” in French class. Even though it is a children’s book, I, personally think it is more suitable for a more mature audience. The messages and illustrations are also amazingly conveyed and drawn by the author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I recommend this book.
To be honest, I’ve been sort of avoiding this book. It seemed that it would be kind of boring. But… with all this positive feedback for this book, I think I may actually go and take a shot at it. I’ll read the original book first, then the graphic novel, though I’m a huuugee graphic novel fan. I can’t wait to read it!
This sounds cool, I will put it on hold asap 🙂
i love graphics. i shall definetly try reading this. (:
ahahah
nice question
i was wondering the exact same thing.
Interesting, I guess I should try it, since it’s a picture book and I LOVE picture books, should be fast to finish. I’ll read the Graphic novel first and then maybe I’ll try the English translation.
wow awesome! I should check it out too 😀
I agree!
I read this book a couple years ago as a child and I thought it was a mysterious type of fantasy book. I just reread it a few months ago and this time caught more of the subtle messages behind the seemingly fantastical plot.
But everything’s still open to interpretation.
wow the little prince turned into a graphic novel that quite interesting
now i wanna go and re read the little prince
XD
If anyone is competent enough in French, I suggest reading the original! The narration and art seems deceptively childish at first but older audiences will discover just how brilliant Saint-Exupery was.
I don’t know if a graphic novel is a good idea or not because there’s a lot of content in the book that I can’t imagine being compressed into a speech bubble. Then again, I would love to see the Little Prince’s adventures depicted with frames upon frames of images.
Guess we’ll see!
my french class had to read this! 😀
OMG This books was amazing! My friend read it last year and she totally recommended it! Such a cute book too!
I would believe so, the original text is fairly simple, but I guess it is meant for an older audience as well perhaps?
Sounds pretty cool… I wonder if I could buy it?
Well, as SS said, I guess the format of the book would be considered to be a children’s book, but the message itself would I guess be meant for a more mature audience.
i’ve read it, it’s a good book. kinda sad
I can’t wait to read the comic, the actual book was very good!
Was it difficult to read? Because I know it’s not exactly the most elementary French read out there…
Awww..I heard about “The Petit Prince’ form older kids who took French Class, and they loved it. I read one of the books, and I can’t wait to read more.
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