Review - The Little Prince

I ask for your patience as I experiement with different ways of writing reviews. And -- as this is my first foray into book blogging -- I welcome any advice or constructive criticism!
Here goes...

Book: The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Summary: Our narrator, an airplane pilot, crashes his plane in the dessert. While in the dessert, he meets a boy who is the prince of a small planet and has set out to explore other tiny planets. The Little Prince tells the narrator of the people he has met during his travels, as the narrator works to repair his plane.

My take: This book was written in 1943, and although it is a children's book, it has a very different tone from most children's books today. It's a perfect read-aloud book because while the child enjoys the whimsical stories and fantasy, the adult reading the book is treated to a philisophical discussion about how too many adults have lost their appreciation of beauty and love in favor of more practical and financial priorities. (This particular philisophical discussion is so quintisetially French to me, that I enjoyed it for that alone). Although the book as a more adult tone than we're used to in our children's books, the basic story and writing is simple and accessible. The writer avoids taking down to the child and in fact, sends the message "really, you kids have got it right and we adults need some help."

4/5 stars