10 Reasons I Wish The Little Prince Were My Bestie

The Little Prince is having a moment: There’s a movie coming out, a coloring book on the shelves, and a fabulous new pop-up book for its littlest readers. But I’ve been friend-crushing on the little prince for nearly 30 years. It’s a crush that has aged with me—I think we can all agree the little prince is an old soul. The original book was published in the 1940s, and I can’t imagine how avant-garde it must have seemed then, but it still feels like a dispatch from a singularly naive yet wise writer. And the little prince is like no other character I’ve met. Here are ten reasons I always wished the little prince were my bestie.
1. Let’s get the superficial bits out of the way. He rocks that long yellow scarf and wild, devil-may-care hair. But the little prince doesn’t care about his looks. He knows what’s most important is invisible.
2. He’s royalty. Enough said.
3. He lives on his own asteroid, B-612 to be precise.
4. He can tell a picture of an elephant inside a boa constrictor apart from a drawing of a hat.
5. The little prince is a friend to snakes, foxes, and flowers.
6. He is “very fond of sunsets,” especially when he’s sad. How about we watch one from the nearest rooftop?
7. The little prince is unpredictable, quick to laugh, and contemplative.
8. He understands the art of taming a friend and agrees that he is forever responsible for what he has tamed, be that a rose or a pal.
9. He is confused by excessive pride, carelessness, and self-importance, though he’s very secure in his own importance.
10. He is concerned with matters of consequence and understands the difference between those things that are entertaining or poetic and actual matters of importance. (I bet he never forgets a birthday.)