The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
from Harcourt Children's Books
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry first published The Little Prince in 1943, only a year before his Lockheed P-38 vanished over the Mediterranean during a reconnaissance mission. More than a half century later, this fable of love and loneliness has lost none of its power. The narrator is a downed pilot in the Sahara Desert, frantically trying to repair his wrecked plane. His efforts are interrupted one day by the apparition of a little, well, prince, who asks him to draw a sheep. "In the face of an overpowering mystery, you don't dare disobey," the narrator recalls. "Absurd as it seemed, a thousand miles from all inhabited regions and in danger of death, I took a scrap of paper and a pen out of my pocket." And so begins their dialogue, which stretches the narrator's imagination in all sorts of surprising, childlike directions.
The Little Prince describes his journey from planet to planet, each tiny world populated by a single adult. It's a wonderfully inventive sequence, which evokes not only the great fairy tales but also such monuments of postmodern whimsy as Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. And despite his tone of gentle bemusement, Saint-Exupéry pulls off some fine satiric touches, too. There's the king, for example, who commands the Little Prince to function as a one-man (or one-boy) judiciary:
I have good reason to believe that there is an old rat living somewhere on my planet. I hear him at night. You could judge that old rat. From time to time you will condemn him to death. That way his life will depend on your justice. But you'll pardon him each time for economy's sake. There's only one rat.The author pokes similar fun at a businessman, a geographer, and a lamplighter, all of whom signify some futile aspect of adult existence. Yet his tale is ultimately a tender one--a heartfelt exposition of sadness and solitude, which never turns into Peter Pan-style treacle. Such delicacy of tone can present real headaches for a translator, and in her 1943 translation, Katherine Woods sometimes wandered off the mark, giving the text a slightly wooden or didactic accent. Happily, Richard Howard (who did a fine nip-and-tuck job on Stendhal's The Charterhouse of Parma in 1999) has streamlined and simplified to wonderful effect. The result is a new and improved version of an indestructible classic, which also restores the original artwork to full color. "Trying to be witty," we're told at one point, "leads to lying, more or less." But Saint-Exupéry's drawings offer a handy rebuttal: they're fresh, funny, and like the book itself, rigorously truthful. --James Marcus
Webster's French-English Dictionary
from Federal Street Press
This bidirectional dictionary from the editors of Merriam-Webster contains definitions and translations for the core vocabulary and idioms of French and English as they are spoken and written today. This paperback comes packed with information for students, tourists, and business travelers alike.
Le Petit Prince: French Edition
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
from Harcourt Children's Books
Now Harcourt is issuing uniform full-color foreign language editions. The restored artwork glows like never before. These affordable and beautiful editions are sure to delight an entire new generation of readers, students, children, and adults for whom Saint-Exupéry's story will open the door to a new understanding of life.
Larousse College Dictionary: French-English/English-French (Larousse College Dictionary)
from Larousse
Aimed at upper-intermediate and advanced users who need more than a pocket-size or concise dictionary can offer, the Larousse College Dictionary—available in both Spanish and French editions—provides in-depth coverage of common vocabulary and a broad range of business terminology to appeal not only to students but to those who use Spanish or French in their professional lives.
With up-to-date vocabulary in all subject areas, the College Dictionary is full of useful features, such as
• 120,000 entries with more than 200,000 translations
• thousands of illustrative examples and idiomatic expressions
• 120 boxed entries on life and culture
• notes on "false friends" and easily confused words
• a 64-page communication guide covering topics such as writing letters and e-mails, applying for jobs, writing advertisements, and more
• verb conjugation tables
The Larousse College Dictionary packs all of Larousse's language expertise into one convenient volume, an excellent balance of content and value.
Regulus (Latin)
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
from Harvest Books
In 2000 Harcourt proudly reissued Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's masterpiece, The Little Prince, in a sparkling new format. Newly translated by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Richard Howard, this timeless classic was embraced by critics and readers across the country for its purity and beauty of expression. And Saint-Exupéry's beloved artwork was restored and remastered to present his work in its original and vibrant colors. Now Harcourt is issuing uniform full-color foreign language editions. The restored artwork glows like never before. These affordable and beautiful editions are sure to delight an entire new generation of readers, students, children, and adults for whom Saint-Exupéry's story will open the door to a new understanding of life.
The Story of Sir Launcelot and His Companions
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Shadow (From the French of Blaise Cendrars)
from Aladdin
Shadow lives in the forest...
It goes forth at night
to prowl around the fires.
It even likes to mingle
with the dancers...
Shadow...
It waves with the grasses,
curls up at the foot of trees...
But in the African experience Shadow is much more. The village storytellers and shamans of an Africa that is passing into memory called forth for the poet Blaise Cendrars an eerie image, shifting between the beliefs of the present and the spirits of the past.
Shadow...
It does not cry out,
it has no voice...
It can cast a spell over you...
It follows man everywhere,
even to war...
Marcia Brown's stunning illustrations in collage, inspired by her travels in Africa, evoke the atmosphere and drama of a life now haunted, now enchanted by Shadow.
Fables (Everyman's Library Children's Classics)
by Jean De La Fontaine
from Everyman's Library
Second only to Aesop, Jean de la Fontaine was the author of comic and delightful fables that are as alive today as when they first appeared in the 18th century. Based on tales both famous and obscure by an array of classical writers, La Fontaine’s fables offer vivid perspectives on such elemental subjects as greed and flattery, envy and avarice, love and friendship, old age and death. The 60 collected here–from “The Crow and the Fox” and “The Cock and the Pearl” to “The Grasshopper and the Ant” and “The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse”–are illustrated with more than 100 charming drawings that capture La Fontaine’s unforgettable cast of animal personalities.
The Three Musketeers (Everyman's Library Children's Classics)
by Alexandre Dumas
from Everyman's Library
Dumas's most popular novel has long been a favorite with children, and its swashbuckling heroes are well known from many a film and TV adaptation. Set in 17th-century France, this tale of the adventures of D'Artagnan and the three musketeers is the finest example of its author's brilliantly inventive storytelling genius.
In his Memoirs, Monsieur d'Artagnan relates that, on his first visit to Monsieur de Treville, Captain of His Majesty's Musketeers, he met the illustrious corps in which he was soliciting the honor of enrolling. Their names were Athos, Porthos and Aramis.
Festival: Methode De Francais 2 : Cahier D'exercices
by Anne Vergne-Sirieys
from Distribooks Inc
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