Special for Sunday: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

From Goodreads: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944) was a French writer and aviator. He is most famous for his novella The Little Prince, and is also well known for his books about aviation adventures, including Night Flight and Wind, Sand and Stars. A list of favorite children's books would not be complete for me without Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) on it. I first encountered this beautiful book in a high school French class, where we read it as one of our textbooks. *side note: textbook companies should seriously consider publishing shorter books written in a narrative form rather than academic.* Anyway, the book quickly became tattered and worn from all the times I read it. I had parts of it memorized and would recite them to myself in an effort to improve my French. I just loved the whimsy of it all, and the absolutely gorgeous imagery of the book. In my opinion, though the pictures are an absolute delight and totally enhance the tale, I do believe the prose could stand on its own. It's that well done. I own copies now in English and in French, and I read them often. I'll still always love the French best, because it was my first exposure. It's one that I'll read to my children over and over. I have read several of his other works, and though none touched me as much as Le Petit Prince, they're all worth reading. Saint-Exupéry's style is easy to read, clear, and full of imagination. I will use his books to help teach my children French and I so look forward to sharing these treasures with them. Seriously, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a must-read, in my opinion. He's so good, it makes me incoherent! Works by Saint-Exupéry:

• L'Aviateur (1926)
• Courrier Sud (1929) (translated into English as Southern Mail)
• Vol de nuit (1931) (Night Flight)
• Terre des hommes (1939) (Wind, Sand and Stars) - Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française
• Pilote de guerre (1942) (Flight to Arras)
• Le Petit Prince (1943) (The Little Prince)
• Lettre à un otage (1944) (Letter to a Hostage)
• Citadelle (1948) (The Wisdom of the Sands), posthumous, ISBN 978-0-226-73372-2
• Lettres de jeunesse (1953), posthumous
• Carnets (1953), posthumous
• Lettres à sa mère (1955), posthumous
• Écrits de guerre (1982) (Wartime Writings 1939-1944), posthumous
• J'apprends a Compter Avec Le Petit Prince (2002), posthumous
• Une Journee Avec Le Petit Prince (2002), posthumous
• Le Petit Prince sur la planète (2003), posthumous
• Manon, danseuse (2007), posthumous
• Lettres à l'inconnue (2008), posthumous

Pin It