The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's 1943 novella is one of those rare books that genuinely belongs to every age. A pilot stranded in the Sahara meets a small prince who has traveled from asteroid to asteroid observing the foolishness of adults — a businessman who counts stars he doesn't own, a king with no subjects, a drunkard who drinks to forget his shame. The fox's lesson — that we are responsible forever for what we have tamed — is among the most quietly true things ever put in a children's book. The ending is melancholy and ambiguous in ways that may prompt gentle conversations with young children. Completely family-safe, with spiritual resonance many readers find profound. A translation matters: seek out a good one.