Bookworm of Gensan collects The Little Prince

My collection of Little Prince books and multimedia materials

One of my favorite books since college is Little Prince by Antoine de St. Exupery. An Oblates of Notre Dame (OND) nun, Sr. Josefina Chiongson, introduced it to me. She warned me beforehand that it was not just a children's book.

It was a thin pocketbook with black and white line drawings and colored watercolor paintings (by the author himself) and easy-to-understand English translation of the original French text of Le Petit Prince. After reading it for the first time, I realized how profound it was. Since then, I started collecting different translations and editions of it.

In Chapter XXI of the book, the fox shared a secret with the Little Prince: "On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux."   In the caption below each picture in my book collection, you can read how each translator rendered this secret.


Katherine Woods's translation

This is my very first copy of this best-selling translation by Katherine Woods. It is an old used book with colored cover and illustrations.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Irene Testot-Ferry's translation

From the Wordsworth Classics edition of The Little Prince.

"But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart."

Richard Howard's translation

Howard's version is the one of the latest translations (2000) of the original French text.

"One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."

Ros and Chloe Schwartz's translation

This edition is the latest translation (2010) published by the Collector's Library. This is the smallest book in my collection.

"You only see clearly with your heart. The most important things are invisible to the eyes."

Sarah Ardizzone's translation

Also one of the latest translations (2010), but this one is for a graphic novel edition of the book illustrated by Joann Sfar.

"You can only see clearly with the heart. What matters is invisible to the eye."

Desiderio Ching's Filipino translation

Ang Munting Prinsipe, the Filipino edition, was published in 1991 by the Claretian Publications.

"...sa pamamagitan lamang ng puso makakakitang mabuti. Hindi kita ng mata ang pinakapuso ng mga bagay."

Now that you've read the different translations, which version do you prefer? :)

And now for the rest of the collection -

The Carousel Book edition

This is a unique book because it features 6 of the original watercolor paintings by the author in pop-up and carousel design.

Top view of the Carousel Book edition

The Little Prince Book of Fun and Adventure

I found this used book in the kiddie section of my favorite used book shop. It's filled with scribblings and drawings in crayon. I guess the kid who used to own this had so much fun with the activities in it.

The Little Prince interactive e-book

This e-book is so user-friendly! You can turn the virtual pages and listen to the story being narrated and voice-acted.

The Little Prince audiobook

This audiobook edition features the voices of Richard Gere as the narrator and Haley Joel Osment as the Little Prince. Definitely a collector's item!

The Little Prince movie musical

With Steven Warner as the Little Prince, Gene Wilder as the Fox, and Bob Fosse as the Snake, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe (famous for My Fair Lady and Camelot) created the musical version of this book.

The Deluxe Pop-up Book edition

The Little Prince comes alive when you read this pop-up edition to your kids. St. Exupery's watercolor paintings are vividly crafted in each page. Richard Howard's translation was used as text in this edition.