The Little Prince is top among the best children’s books ever written. However, it is still an essential read for adults. Perhaps, for adults, it can be viewed as a fable, while for children, it can be considered a fairytale.
Most of us tend to think that we get wiser as we grow up. However, The Little Prince shows and reminds us that even as we get older, fewer things make sense. It triggers the question of what makes adults obsessed with possessing meaningless objects and becoming admired by their peers? It also questions our belief systems and how we relate with others.
Many children feel that they can’t understand what’s happening. However, The Little Prince depicts that, more often than not, things are most apparent when viewed from a child’s point of view. Those who have read the book can attest to that. But those who haven’t should grab the book.
Having read the book, you will most likely find yourself searching for more books like The Little Prince, even as an adult. Here are our top picks books like The Little Prince to make it easier for you.
Nick and the Search for Happiness, by Fata Leila Pezeshk
In this book, Nick comes out of a dream in which his parents were discussing town people. The people were desperately searching for “happiness.” As you read along, you will join Nick in flying high in looking for happiness and discovering essential life lessons. The book contains inspirational quotes that will motivate you as you read. Many of its characters will spark your reading journey with interest even as you find the story’s messages and link them together like a puzzle.
The book also contains different practices that can help young readers in understanding how to set intentions and find meaning in everyday life. Adults will also see that finding a sense of life’s purpose and practicing mindful living are crucial qualities. If both qualities are cultivated from the early stages, they can easily foster inner peace and help one feel content even at an older age.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy
This book will provoke your thoughts and stir self-discussions, but it is also a piece of art. It is a reading journey appropriate for children and adults alike. The book explores universal lessons necessary for navigating life with a hundred picture illustrations. It is a book that will offer you hope and inspiration during uncertain and dark times and reflects many truths that humans tend to forget.
It talks about a remarkable and curious boy, a ravenous mole, a guarded fox, and an intelligent horse who wind up in a terrain that is difficult at times. There, they will share their biggest fears and most significant discoveries regarding different aspects of life. These include being vulnerable, kind, hopeful, friendly, and loving. Through the adventures they share and the conversations they hold, you will learn different lessons that play a significant role in life.
The best part is that they are all written and illustrated in a way that helps readers of all ages to connect. The book is childlike because of its simplicity, but it drives vital universal messages. It is an excellent opening into the human heart as it will teach you how to be gentle to yourself and those around you.
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This book offers a story that provides unique insights into human nature. It is engaging, educational, and cleverly written. The book tells the story of Mary Lennox, who is an orphan. She goes to stay at her uncle’s magnificent mansion built on the Yorkshire Moors. There, she discovers that the house is packed with secrets. This house has about a hundred rooms, but her uncle always locks himself up.
At night, Mary hears a sound that cries down along one of the corridors. Her only escape in this massive property is the gardens that surround it. Mary then finds a secret garden, but walls surround it, and it is locked up with a missing key. Through the help of two associates she did not expect, she later gets to access this secret garden. She gets bent on bringing the garden back to life.
Along the way, she will manage to cure Colin, her sickly cousin who has also lived a spoilt life and is also as imperious as she is. The two are trapped in the old manor, but the garden will capture their imaginations. Their arrogant natures will then start to bloom and sweeten even as the garden sprouts with new life.
The Secret Garden is a book for anyone who feels afraid of living and loving. The way it portrays reawakening spirits will give you a new thrill and help you feel rejuvenated.
Fox 8, by George Saunders
Fox 8 tells and illustrates the story of a witty fox who is coming of age. He has been the daydreamer to his pack and was always regarded with a knowing snort and eye-rolling. But he will later learn unique skills. He is fascinated by humans, and that’s why he spends a lot of time watching one particular family through a window.
Through his observations, he will learn how to read, talk, and write. However, his misadventures will start when he goes to the mall to search for food with another fox. The mall’s construction destroyed their only source of food. His friend comes across a horrible encounter at the mall, and Fox 8 runs for his life. He has just discovered how humans can be cruel and is in utter shock, disbelief, and fear.
This book’s insights remind humans that they need to be more sensitive to the natural world and all that inhabits it. It is heartwarming to see the innocence and purity animals possess. You will get an emotional punch and wonder why humans blessed with incredible gifts can be so cruel. You will feel more compelled to treat any living thing better generally.
Matilda, by Roald Dahl
Matilda teaches us that standing up for others and fighting injustice is not a matter of age. This is a story about power, not just any capacity, but brainpower. The protagonist, Matilda Wormwood, is five but also a genius. However, her parents cannot even notice Matilda’s inherent power. They think she is simply a nuisance.
To make matters worse, Matilda goes to school where Miss Trunchbull, the headmistress, is horrible and a bully who does not make it easy for Matilda’s teacher and friends. Miss Trunchbull is unaware that Matilda is an incredibly clever child who has a few tricks up her sleeve. Matilda will discover her power during an incident where Miss Trunchbull’s water will reveal a beastly creature.
When Trunchbull attacks Matilda, she discovers that she possesses a remarkable ability that can help her fight back. A superhuman genius is needed for Miss Trunchbull to get what she deserves. Matilda may be just the one fit character for this.
Matilda provides children and adults- parents and teachers with valuable lessons. Through the book, children can see how they can believe in themselves, and parents can learn not to be ignorant of their children’s abilities and show interest in them. On the other hand, teachers can know that bullying can affect young children and do better to mentor them.
The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein
The Giving Tree is a book that helps children and adults learn about love and acceptance. It is about a tree that loved a little boy. The story is beautifully written with beautiful illustrations to offer readers a unique point of view. The book also provides a touching way to interpret giving and accepting love in return.
The tree talked about in the book is the giver to the boy who always came to it. When the boy was young, he ate apples from the tree, swung from its branches, slid down its trunk, and sat in its shade. All this while the tree was happy because the little boy was happy. However, as he grew older, he started to yearn for more from the tree. It kept giving but giving became more challenging with time, and the tree couldn’t meet his needs.
When he needed money, the tree offered the boy to sell her apples. When he wanted a house, she gave her branches. When he grew too old to play under the tree, he asked her for a boat. She offered to be cut to a stump for him to craft the vessel. He asked for all these things unthinkingly, thought the tree was happy, but she wasn’t. Eventually, there was nothing left of her, but the now older man still needed her services.
This book is meant for self-interpretation, whether you should keep taking or giving in life and if total self-sacrifice can become infinitely sad.
Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak
This story provides us with a lesson that the darkness within us shouldn’t be hidden or overlooked. It is a story that focuses on the power of imagination but at the same time a reinforcement that children and adults need to know that there is time and a place for particular behaviors. Children need to be respectful, and they need to know that they are loved even when they don’t show respect.
When Max wears a wolf suit and starts to cause havoc, his mother instructs him to go to bed. He has a tantrum then he visits his wild side. He sails to an island that is home to Wild Things. There, he is named king and shares a wild commotion with the Wild Things. However, from far away, Max smells good and eatable things. The uproar will continue through the well-detailed illustrations for readers to interpret the message. The monsters will appear scary, but they won’t hurt Max. Through his imagination, he has complete control. He will be pulled back by the belief he has for parental love to a still-hot supper.
Walk with Me, by Jairo Buitrago & Rafael Yockteng
Walk with Me illustrates that we can still find the path intended for us even during hardships. The book gives an imaginative story that depicts a girl’s complex emotional reality. A father’s absence is mirrored using a lion’s shape that only his daughter can see every day.
The girl conjures and imagines the lion as her companion, who accompanies her on different errands. He comes with her as she walks the extended distance from school and helps her get her baby brother from daycare. He also assists her with shopping in the store that has cut off her family’s credit. The lion stays with her all along until she gets home safely.
The neighborhood is dangerous, and the girl must take care of grown-up problems as her mother makes ends meet in a factory. She must find strength by imagining the lion helping her out. He constantly shows up whenever she needs him, unlike her birth father, who she can only see in a photograph. From the picture, he appears like a lion.
However, the lion still disappears into the hills just like her dad did. She wishes for the lion to come back to care for and protect her. This book is simply written, but it tells a very complex story about some difficulties children encounter and an absentee parent’s impact.
Conclusion
Children’s books like The Little Prince emphasize matters of the heart, soul, and the intrinsic value of relationships. They advocate for the young and old voices by helping readers see the need to come out of narrow-mindedness, narcissistic traits, self-righteousness, and spiritual sterility.
These are issues brought about by how inhumane we have become for individual sake. The books we have listed will trigger questions about your beliefs and handling relationships. They will help you diagnose the mental or moral ill-being you may have to become a better person.
You could also check our favorite books that teaches compassion to children.