Entering the Universe of 'The Little Prince'Special from the Los Angeles Times, 16 August 2000
Sure, millions of young readers in America have loved "The Little Prince"
since it was first published in 1943 -- but they've never experienced Antoine
de Saint-Exupery's classic fable quite like this.
Tivola Publishing, a Berlin-based producer of children's multimedia
CD-ROMs, will release the English language CD-ROM adaptation of the
best-selling book Aug. 28. The CD-ROM ($29.99), which was released in
Germany two years ago, features a 3-D animated version of Saint-Exupery's
story, based on a new translation by poet Richard Howard, with British
actor-director Kenneth Branagh as narrator and Owen Evans, a 12-year-old
actor from west London, providing the voice of the Little Prince. Tivola plans
to release an English-language "Robinson Crusoe" CD-ROM here sometime next
year.
The tale of "The Little Prince," that of a downed aviator in the Sahara desert
who encounters an "extraordinary little fellow" from a planet that is "hardly
bigger than a house," is just the start on the CD-ROM. Now you can actually
enter the Little Prince's "universe."
But is a CD-ROM version of a children's classic -- with interactive
activities,games, and biographical author information -- a good thing?
Yes and no, said Mitzi Myers, who teaches children's literature at the
University of California, Los Angeles. A classic children's book shouldn't be
exempt from appearing in other media, she said, but she's puzzled why "The
Little Prince" was chosen for a CD-ROM.
"The Little Prince," she said, "is an extraordinarily sophisticated fantasy
... a very philosophical book. To be understood would require a lot of
interactive conversation with a parent. I'd think it would be a very
exceptional child who could hear the book and understand it."
In a CD-ROM, Myers said, "you've got the child sitting passively. Nobody is
there to discuss the issues, and the book is full of things that demand
discussion. I even have to discuss a lot of it with graduating seniors at
UCLA."
The story addresses such issues, she says, as what do we live for and what is
friendship? And the key question, which most of the movie versions delete, is
what is the meaning of life and what is the meaning of death?
Ann Kaganoff, a certified educational therapist in private practice in
Irvine,Calif., said the question of whether something is difficult for a young
reader to understand could be asked of "Huckleberry Finn," "Tom Sawyer," or
any book.
"The reason I emphasize parents sharing books with children is that it's
really an opportunity to promote question-asking, discussion, and
interpretation," she said.
That "The Little Prince" is now on a CD-ROM doesn't bother Kaganoff. "I
think they've certainly chosen something that has delightful illustrations
that live, and the voice of Kenneth Branagh will add a tremendous amount of
meaning," she said.
Parents, she added, might consider this analogy: "There is a difference
between reading Shakespeare and attending a performance of Shakespeare,
and the CD-ROM could be a kind of performance of the book if it's well
done.
"What you have to remember is that for children who are struggling readers,the
pictorial information can become very powerful, and they can tend to depend on
that as their source of meaning. It complements meaning, but it doesn't
substitute for the printed word."
The CD-ROM, of course, offers a lot more than just the story of the Little
Prince. You can catch an orbiting planet in the Little Prince's universe with
your "star cursor" and "learn all about the planet's secrets and its
inhabitants." Or enter the Fox Training Game and, after you've "tamed" the fox
that the Little Prince meets, he will give you a gift (a "secret notebook"
with personalized stationery).
Or you can watch an animated biography of Saint-Exupery, which includes
archival photographs of the author, who disappeared over the Mediterranean
while flying a reconnaissance mission for his French air squadron a year after
"The Little Prince" was published.
Myers, for one, isn't a fan of the CD-ROM version.
"It's more like making it fun and games instead of making the child think,
which was the book's whole point," she said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not the
world's favorite fan of gunking up stuff."
And nothing, she emphasizes, replaces human interaction.
"A CD-ROM, with its cute little interactive things -- click on this and that
-- is dealing with the surface. It's not dealing with a truly philosophical
book about how to live your life. I defy anyone to come up with a gimmick that
makes that better than having someone talk to you."
For purists, two English-language book versions are available. The original
translation by Katherine Woods (for as long as the current printing is in
stock)and the new translation by Howard, published June 29, the centennial of
Saint-Exupery's birth.
What's a reader to do? As Howard puts it in his new translation that has some
"Little Prince" critics harping at the changes: "One sees clearly only with
the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."
Copyright © 2000 Bergen Record Corp.
|