A very dear friend recently gave me The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. She was amazed I hadn’t read it and said that as soon as I have, we would watch the movie version together. Her advice to me was, ‘you need to have a childlike imagination when reading this book.’ And I believe she was right.

So, when the time came for a new book, I selected a whimsical bookmark from my collection, something to match the book itself. The one I chose was from The Book Depository, designed by one of their customers (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, order a book from The Book Depository. You’ll get a bookmark with your order and some of them are simply beautiful). It had a sketch of a small village and reminded me of classic tales of a village on the road to some greater city, a place for travellers to rest.

But back to the book.

The Little Prince is a small book, filled with simple drawings which capture the intricacies of the storyline. It is filled with tales, anecdotes, morals and lessons all jumbled up in such a sweet package that I’m not exactly sure what the overarching story was meant to tell me. All I do know, is that I was glad to open the pages each day and content when I had finished. The last two pages are quite heart-breaking in the way a shooting star is both beautiful and tragic at the same time.

And as I moved to place my pretty bookmark in the book for the last time, I noticed something curious on the back. The designer’s favourite book, as pictured on the back, was in fact, The Little Prince! How appropriate that she should design that specific bookmark for me to couple with that specific book.

It seemed appropriate in a way only the book could make you understand.

I haven’t yet watched the movie (and am not sure how such a book would be translated into film), but can say that the 100 pages that make up The Little Prince are worth your time. If, that is, you have the imagination of a child.