Posted on by Sonia Dogra

The Grown-ups Are Certainly Very Odd!

Dear Reader

What’s your balm for adulting? Growing-up can be tiresome and we can all do with fewer curve balls. But that’s not how life works and the Gods don’t mind a good laugh while grown-ups make sense of their long-winded lives.

Children’s literature is a great way to get back your life’s mojo, and it is my strong belief that books written for children serve a much bigger purpose when they are read by adults. This year I’ve enriched myself with children’s literature – from children’s poetry to short stories and picture books; junior readers to young adult and audio books – I’ve reread some favourites from my childhood and devoured the latest additions to an ever-evolving genre to understand a form of writing that I’d like to invest time in.

Therefore, in this blog hop dedicated to books and reading I’d like to talk about a classic – a book that blurs the lines between children’s and adult literature.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry views our complicated adult life through the simple lens of a child. The story begins with the author’s lament of having to give up sketching because of the lack of imagination of the adults in his life. This also happens to be my favourite part in the story that I’ve often turned to as a writer. Let me explain how.

When a child, the author once draws a boa constrictor that has swallowed an elephant. He then shows his masterpiece to adults and asks if the drawing frightens them. Well, they in turn ask him why the picture of a hat should scare them! The author tries a second time round and he is advised to give up the drawing and focus on history, math and geography, which he duly does and becomes a pilot later on in life. Besides the fact that the grown-ups do sufficiently well to murder the child’s creativity, what got my attention is the fact that as adults we often fail to see beyond the obvious. Our ingenuity dies a slow death as we grow in age. We see and believe only in what is visible to our naked eyes. And so, every time when my words dry up, I remind myself to look beyond the hat, and IMAGINE a boa constrictor that has swallowed an elephant instead. Without imagination, our lives hold no meaning. Nor does our writing. But sadly, we tend to forget this. As the author points out – The grown-ups are certainly very odd.

Moving on, when the author becomes a pilot, his plane crash-lands in the Sahara. It is here that he meets a strange creature – the Little Prince, who is visiting the earth from another planet. The two strike a friendship and begin to fix the author’s plane while hunting for water. The Little Prince then narrates to the author details of his visit to six other planets. It is in these visits and an unusual friendship with a fox and a snake that human folly and entrapments, and the vagaries of adulthood are laid bare before the reader. All this, while the story continues to be simple at face value.

There is plenty of wisdom in this children’s book, and though I’m not going to outline the entire story here, I’ve put together some of my favourite lines for you all. I am sure these snippets will compel you to pick the book up if you haven’t read it as yet. Even if not, you’ll definitely go back from this page, a richer person today. (The last quote in this list is the one that drew me to the book at the age of fourteen when it was shared during an orientation in school).

  • If you were to say to the grown-ups: ‘I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof,’ they would not be able to get any idea of the house at all. You would have to say to them: ‘I saw a house that cost $20,000.’ Then they would exclaim: ‘Oh, what a pretty house that is!’
  • But certainly, for us who understand life, figures are a matter of indifference.
  • It is such a secret place, the land of tears.
  • The Little Prince also pulled up, with a certain sense of dejection, the last little shoots of the baobabs. He believed that he would never want to return. But on this last morning all these familiar tasks seemed very precious to him.
  • I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.
  • If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.
  • Conceited people never hear anything but praise.
  • You become responsible forever, for what you have tamed.
  • Only the children know what they are looking for.
  • It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

    Dear Reader, adult life is never easy, but we can always find ways to make it less difficult. Reading children’s literature could be one. I hope a sneak peek into The Little Prince is the balm you needed today for all your adulting woes. Do share your thoughts with me in the comments section below. Finally,

  All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.

 “This post is part of the Bookish League blog hop hosted by Bohemian Bibliophile“

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36 Replies to “The Grown-ups Are Certainly Very Odd!”

  1. I too have had an enriching experience this year reading children’s literature all thanks to you. The writing is indeed quite impressive. I read The Little Price long back but never really understood it. Time for a re-read.

    Thank you for participating in the blog hop, Sonia, and being one of my biggest supporters.

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  3. Glad you are shining the light on children’s books. Classic as well as the ever-evolving genre with the next-gen authors using their imagination. I was first introduced to evolution when I got a chance to read children’s books with my children. I had not come across such a wide range of illustrations and the depth of wisdom in children’s books while I was growing up. Good luck to you in your endeavor.

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  6. Sonia, honestly, I’m reading your post after a long time and enjoyed every bit of it. I’m reminded of one of Calvin and Hobbes’ comic strip which also talks about how boring it is to grow up. We lose our innocence, we start discriminating and acquire all vices that we never knew as a child. Childhood life is indeed a blessing.

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  8. Lovely post Sonia. I haven’t read The Little Prince; I tried reading it but gave up because my adult mind demanded profound lessons and a linear narrative structure.

    I was greedy for the quotes you shared.

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  10. After reading your post, I really wish to re-read The Little Prince. It was one of those rare books where every line was a gem! Especially love the quote, ‘It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.’ Why don’t authors write such books anymore?

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  11. The last quote is amazing.
    Only few of us remember that we were kids once.
    And I agree with your thoughts that children’s literature is not just for children. That’s the reason Frozen is my favourite movie 🙂

    If looked carefully these stories have the best life advice.

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  12. Just this review gives a feel of what this book can offer its reader. The quote “ I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.” especially struck a chord within me. I think I definitely need to read this book. Thank you for your review!

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  13. “All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.” This sums up the sadness of our existence no? You have rightly pointed out that as we grow older, our ability to marvel at common things, our imagination, our creativity starts drying up, crushed under the weight of our responsibilities, our duties.
    As always it is always such a pleasure to read your blog Sonia.

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  14. What a lovely book and an equally lovely review Sonia!
    I had this book as an adolescent but thought it to be too childish for a 14-year-old to read! Now as an adult these books sometimes appeal to me much more, craving a simple life much like Winnie The Pooh and Friends 🙂

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  15. Our creativity dies a slow death as we grow up.
    You’ve compelled me to check out and read this book at the earliest. Thanks for the rec, Sonia.
    Also, other than the quotes from the book, which are just wow! I also liked yours, “Without imagination, our lives hold no meaning. Nor does our writing. “

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  16. I am very fond of children’s literature. I find them innocent and pure, they take me to a journey, savoring my reading ritual with childish adventures. I relive my childhood with every children’s book and every book teaches me the difficult things of life in an easy and simple way. Children are the best!

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  17. The Little Prince is a great book! I unfortunately read it only very recently so it doesn’t hold the charm that it might have held for me if I’d read it when I was younger but it’s truly a wonderful children’s books with lessons we should keep reminding ourselves.

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  18. Adulting is certainly boring. I have The Little Prince lying in my cupboard for decades and I must take it out again to find the spontaneity of childhood again. I find books for children very rejuvenating.

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  19. As we all know that there is something or the other to learn from everyone we meet in our life and children are the ones who makes us realize so many things which we as an adult failed to acknowledge or learn so far. Coming to children literature and books … I am the one who still love to pick kids book to read as every time I read it, it gives me a new angle or perspective of visualizing life. I have a good stock of kids book with me and few are of my childhood days which my father and mother introduced in my life. Following the same footsteps I am on a mission to introduce these books to my son. Kids can do such surprising things which we as parents find it hard to imagine. The way they visualize life is completely different from us and that is what we called new generation. I will love to learn many things from my son … let him grow a little big. A Wonderful post

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  20. We, the so-called grown-ups, are definitely odd. My son drew an Elasmosaurus for his school interview and when I looked at it, I saw a thing on the scenery of sun and water. On asking him what his teacher asked him to draw, he said, ‘She only told me to draw the sun and anything around it.” So he drew that because it is a water animal. I was overwhelmed with shock and amusement and told him that he would surely pass the interview! Hahaha! I didn’t know back about this dinosaur. They really think out of this world, unlike us!

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  21. I absolutely love this book. When I read it for the first time as a child I couldn’t make head or tail of it but that image of the hat vs the boa constrictor who swallowed an elephant remained in my head. I had no idea what a boa constrictor was, back then. You brought back such sweet memories.

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  23. It sounds so imaginative! Some very thoughtful quotations. I haven’t read this book, but yes I find children’s books very endearing. Especially the brightly illustrated ones!

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