New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1943. First trade edition in English. Published in the same year as the French-language trade edition. In the correct salmon colored boards. Jacket priced at $2.00 and with the publisher's Fourth Avenue address. A lovely, Near Fine copy in like dust jacket. A bright and attractive copy of the book with just a slight smudge to the upper free endpaper. Jacket with some toning to edges and spine and a smudge to back panel. Still, an excellent example of a book that is increasingly difficult to find in this condition.

One of the most beloved books in the history of children's publishing, Le Petit Prince/The Little Prince is also a work of philosophical and spiritual depth that touches adult readers. Over the course of eight days, the mysterious Little Prince recounts the story of his brief life to an Aviator stranded in the Sahara after a plane crash. As the Little Prince shares his observations about the worlds he has visited, including our own, we have the opportunity to reflect on the kind of people we become as we enter adulthood – and how we might work to make ourselves and the world a kinder place. Indeed, while the Little Prince often laments the foibles and tragedies of the human world, it is in nature he finds positive truth: the Rose, the Fox, and the Snake carry important lessons about love, commitment, and the finite nature of life. Saint-Exupery, himself a World War II aviator, would tragically die in a plane crash shortly after the book's release. It stands as his lasting legacy, a work of genius.

Grolier Children's 100, 88. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. (Item #8188)