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Le Petit Prince

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Joann Sfar retrouve en bande dessinée la poésie, l'émotion et toute la force symbolique du célèbre conte. Fidèle au livre de son enfance, il l'est aussi à lui-même et raconte l'histoire avec la grâce et la générosité qui le caractérisent.

110 pages, Hardcover

First published September 18, 2008

About the author

Joann Sfar

463 books482 followers
Joann Sfar (born August 28, 1971 in Nice) is a French comics artist, comic book creator, and film director.

Sfar is considered one of the most important artists of the new wave of Franco-Belgian comics. Many of his comics were published by L'Association which was founded in 1990 by Jean-Christophe Menu and six other artists. He also worked together with many of the new movement's main artists, e.g. David B. and Lewis Trondheim. The Donjon series which he created with Trondheim has a cult following in many countries.

Some of his comics are inspired by his Jewish heritage as the son of Jewish parents (an Ashkenazi mother and a Sephardic father). He himself says that there is Ashkenazi humor in his Professeur Bell series (loosely based on Joseph Bell), whereas Le chat du rabbin is clearly inspired by his Sephardic side. Les olives noires is a series about a Jewish child in Israel at the time of Jesus. Like Le chat du rabbin, the series contains a lot of historical and theological information.

His main influences are Fred and André Franquin as well as Marc Chagall, Chaim Soutine, Will Eisner, Hugo Pratt and John Buscema.

From 2009 to 2010, Sfar wrote and directed 'Serge Gainsbourgh: Une Vie Heroique', a biopic of the notorious French songwriter, of whom Sfar is a self-confessed fanatic. The film, which draws substantially on Sfar's abilities as a comic book artist through its extensive use of fantasy artwork, animation and puppetry, was released in 2010 to general critical acclaim.

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5 stars
3,466 (49%)
4 stars
2,128 (30%)
3 stars
1,022 (14%)
2 stars
251 (3%)
1 star
96 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 439 reviews
Profile Image for Mariah Roze.
1,056 reviews1,058 followers
October 1, 2016
This was cute. The beginning was a little confusing and I only knew what was going on because I had read the original book.

I love reading classic novels, then reading their graphic novel :) I started that tradition and that is what happened in this situation. I actually preferred the classic or the graphic in this case.
Profile Image for Nnedi.
Author 152 books16.4k followers
Read
August 14, 2012
hmm. this one was...weird. i think i liked it...i'm not sure...i dunno...gimme a few weeks to mull it over.
Profile Image for Calista.
4,770 reviews31.3k followers
October 19, 2019
I love 'The Little Prince by Antonie de SAint-Exupery. This is the graphic novel version of the story and for some reason something is lost instead of being added to the story. The story does not work as well. I'm an disappointed in this story.

I loved reading the book, loved it and something isn't quite working here. Shame.
Read
May 3, 2020
Chả dám nói gì hay đánh giá mấy sao vì mình đọc vẫn chưa hiểu gì. Nói chưa hiểu gì thì cũng k phải mà là kiểu mập mờ, lập lờ ý....
Profile Image for Dave Schaafsma.
Author 6 books31.9k followers
December 30, 2013
I liked the original, and think this version actual undermines the quality of the original in certain ways, but the art is good, from a fine artist, and it helps me recall the original…. would send a young person to the original, not this comic version, though, as with Hope Larson's Wrinkle in Time. They are entitled to their own versions, just as filmmakers are of versions of books and short stories, but with classic tales, hmm, I see a pattern forming here in my taste and opinion about these comics of classics… but no, Gareth Hinds' version of Beowulf is great, there are others that work. Not so much added here for me, though.
Profile Image for David Shelton.
10 reviews
May 15, 2013
I completely love this book!

I read the original book Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in French in my high-school French class, and fell in love with the author's charming self-illustrations, and its philosophy and what it has to say about relationships.

Having said that, this graphic novel, which I found in my local library while searching for something else, at first troubled me--I thought it would mess with the charm or messages of the original--but I was pulled inside by the cover illustration by Joann Sfar: while completely different from monsieur de Saint-Exupéry's style, he completely captures the feel of the characters...And don't worry, every word of the original is in here, with no alterations! (I read, and bought, the English version; it was originally drawn/adapted by Mr. Sfar in French.)

Here is what I love about this edition [caution, spoiler alert!]That is the power of this graphic novel.
Profile Image for Kathrina.
508 reviews131 followers
February 27, 2013
I guess my heart is made of wood these days -- almost everyone seems to love this book, but I think the evidence is misleading. You'll probably only read this if you're already a fan of that precious little prince. We've been asked to read this for our Resources for Young Adults class, and I cannot envision a young adult that would be drawn to this. This is for grown-up fans of the original, perhaps folks that first read it in French. I'm willing to be challenged on that claim, but for now...This book needs a patient and thoughtful reader; it's not sparkly or visceral. It also needs a reader with a healthy tolerance for precocious narrators and grand moralizing. There are some bits I like -- how we value what we tame, how what is "serious" depends on our perspective, but overall, the voice is too affected for my taste.
Profile Image for Spaghettitoes.
32 reviews3 followers
February 24, 2012
CRYING! CRYING AT A BUS STATION!!!

That's pretty much all I need to say right? I loved this story, it was so delightful and so right for children. The author really has a fabulous way of talking to children without being condescending and creates this lovely little world where you can think like that and it's okay.

The ending, oh I was sobbing at a London bus stop at 6am but it's really good too. I then took it the rest of the trip to my 7 year old nephew. I warned him about the sad bit (getting a bit choked up as I read it out to him when he asked for an explanation) but told him it was a good story and he read it.

The stars - sometimes you can hear them laughing, sometimes they make you cry. Just...exactly this.
Profile Image for Annetius.
341 reviews105 followers
August 20, 2019
Μου ήρθε πολύ ξαφνικό να νιώσω ευτυχία διαβάζοντας τη βερσιόν του μικρού πρίγκιπα σε κόμικ (κυκλοφορεί στα ελληνικά από τις εκδόσεις Πατάκη) του Joann Sfar. Οι εικόνες που συνοδεύουν την ιστορία είναι καταπληκτικές, η ιστορία ζωντανεύει μέσα απ' αυτές και νομίζεις ότι είσαι μέρος της. Απόλαυσα τη σοφία του μικρού πρίγκιπα μέχρι.. δακρύων. Θα το διάβαζα σε κάθε παιδί και θα έπιανα μακρόσυρτες κουβέντες μαζί του πάνω σε τόσα πολλά θέματα. Μόνο που έχω την αίσθηση ότι όσο πιο μικρό το παιδί, τόσο πιο πολύ θα τον καταλάβαινε τον μικρό πρίγκιπα, τόσο περισσότερο θα καταλάβαινε τι θα πει η κουβέντα: "Μόνο με την καρδιά βλέπεις καλά. Το σημαντικό τα μάτια δεν το βλέπουν".
Profile Image for Adi.
51 reviews5 followers
May 7, 2020
The witty dialogues about human idiosyncrasies make me think that this book is meant for adults. But then, children are oftentimes wiser; the Little Prince would agree. This graphic novel version has also been nicely drawn.
The original text is on my to-read list now!
Profile Image for Bruna Yukari.
72 reviews5 followers
April 8, 2011
It is beautiful, it is perfect, but if you say that "you become responsible, for ever, for what you have tamed." I'll punch you in the eye.
Profile Image for Kris.
3,492 reviews69 followers
February 21, 2016
Let me be clear that this review is for the graphic novel, and not for the original The Little Prince book, which is one of my favorites. This adaptation was a disappointment. It was confusing and missed many of the main points and charm of the original book. The art was not really my favorite. The little prince kind of looked like Stewie Griffin. So, read the original.
Profile Image for NaseemSharaf.
39 reviews9 followers
November 27, 2019
راويه جميله لطيفه..
رحله بين الكواكب.. تأسرك بصوت مفعم بالحياه
لأمير صغير جميل...
يعطينا دروس في الحب و الاهتمام.
رحله تصلك بك لكيف تميز وردتك الغاليه من بين الآلاف الملايين من الوردود...
روايه تشد الصغار و الكبار ..
Profile Image for Annie Petkova.
10 reviews
August 16, 2016
A stunning masterpiece of how when you listen to the child within you will find the answers to all your existential questions.
Profile Image for Corinne Edwards.
1,547 reviews227 followers
February 8, 2016
As a child, I was addicted to this bizarre movie of a small boy from another planet. Our Little Prince befriends a pilot whose plane has broken down in the desert. The pilot, while once very frustrated with the unimaginative-ness of adults, finds himself acting like an adult when confronted with the naivete of the Little Prince. The Little Prince has left his tiny planet and its inhabitants to travel the universe, trying to learn about whatever is out there and, in the process, discovers many of the not-so-lovely parts of humanity: our tendency to want to rule over others, our tendency to not see the forest for the trees, our tendency to want to OWN whatever we see. But he also finds out what it means to MEAN something to someone, and how it feels when that someone is taken from us. I love how he puts into words the idea that once we have loved someone, or someone loves us - we are no longer the same. And, suddenly, all the other people in the world are also different, because they are not that person.

My favorite quote?

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

It's philosophical yet childish at the same time. I like it for its timelessness and for my image of Gene Wilder as the fox, in my favorite scene. The drawings in this adaptation didn't mesh well with my own image of the story, but beyond that, I did like the adaption of the text and the closeup drawings at the end actually did make me feel teary for a moment. That's impressive.
Profile Image for Steph.
679 reviews421 followers
March 27, 2017
When you love a story, it's a joy to visit it through other mediums. So the ever-popular The Little Prince is an obvious choice for a graphic adaptation.

I really enjoyed Sfar's version, but I'm repulsed by his choice to personify the little prince's vain flower as a thin, busty woman with a telephone in hand. Isn't it bad enough for the flower to be gendered at all? Does it really need to have all these 'feminine traits'?? That kind of threw off my experience; but otherwise I think this is a decent adaptation. Evocative art, beautiful colors. It packs almost the same emotional punch as the original. Almost.

And, if you're interested in different tellings of this story, I highly recommend Starbot. It's a short freeware game (takes less than an hour to play), it's inspired by The Little Prince, and it has amazing music and art and emo vibes.
Profile Image for Damon.
396 reviews4 followers
October 8, 2013
It is actually painful for me to rate this book so low. I absolutely love both Sfar and the original of The Little Prince. It's just... sad that the combination of the two fell short of how great I was imaging this would be. Using an oddly-edited version of the text, the story reads in a weirdly choppy way, at points almost seeming like pages are missing (I looked back and checked the page numbers more than once), and Sfar's illustration work is fine, but it doesn't seem to capture the... delicacy of the story and the characters. The final result seems like something that wouldn't really grab readers new to either the work or the artist, and that's a shame.
Profile Image for Sarah.
464 reviews9 followers
February 23, 2013
It has been years since I read the original, and I know this one varies from it but am not clear on how much at this point. Honestly, it's hard for me talk about this in comparison to the original because even though I love it, I don't have a clear memory of it. That said, this is just as poignant and moving as I remember the original to be. There are so many beautiful lines, and truths, in this book. As a graphic novel, it is well laid out and easy to read, and the illustrations, I think, add to the story.
Profile Image for Lars Guthrie.
546 reviews183 followers
September 11, 2011
Joann Sfar has been in the news recently because of his new movie about Serge Gainsbourg. The film sounds intriguing, and I hope it sends more people to Sfar's prodigious and excellent comic book catalog. To his credit, Sfar insists on calling them comic books, dismissing the highbrow 'graphic novel' as a term for adults who might be embarrassed in the bookstore. Sfar writes superb comic books for adults and children, and his adaptation of 'The Little Prince' is no exception.
Profile Image for Amal Masle.
117 reviews
August 6, 2015
ahh that was refreshing.
I absolutely love the original novel so I had to check out the graphic novel adaption. The illustrations! I was pretty iffy with the style initially but later then I come to appreciate how Joanne Sfar completely captured the characters, the scenery, the FEEEEELS and how it didn't alter the charms of the original book. I loveoloveloveleol the little prince and I am beyond excited for the film adaptation.
Profile Image for Alexis Barth.
30 reviews7 followers
March 14, 2018
I loved both this version and the other version of "The Little Prince." There is some differences on how both authors portray the artwork. Not a big deal. Both get the point across. This version kinda of goes more in depth compared to the other in my opinion. So if you get confused, this version may answer your questions. This version is also a bit humorous compared to the other. In the end it's a beautiful version! Well done!
Profile Image for Michael.
3,209 reviews
April 6, 2018
Beautiful art. I never read the children's book, but Sfar crafts a curious and engaging tale of youthful imagination and wonder and responsibilities. It's sad and beautiful, and full of whimsical, oddball encounters, and well worth a look.
Profile Image for أماني العازمي.
306 reviews11 followers
November 12, 2020
ما يحتاج أقول عنه، لكن الكوميكس رائع جداً الرسومات والإسلوب محافظين على نفس الروح الأصلية للكتاب، لطيف جدًا.
رغم إن ممكن ما ينفهم المعنى أو مقصود، أو قد تبدو قصة طفولية، لكنها تحتمل عدة تفاسير في الإنسانية وطبيعة الحياة.
ما أعرف أكتب مراجعة كبيرة وشاملة، بس يستاهل القراءة هالكتاب أكثر من مرة.
Profile Image for Marco Tamborrino.
Author 5 books190 followers
May 8, 2011
Finalmente l'ho letto in lingua madre: bellissimo come lo ricordavo!
Profile Image for Ely.
1,434 reviews116 followers
December 17, 2016
I don't know what it was, but this just didn't hold the same magic for me as the original.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 439 reviews

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