Reviews

Young Osment (The Sixth Sense; Pay It Forward) again proves his mettle as an actor, giving voice to the Little Prince in this crisp, full-cast production of the literary classic. He approaches the role with a gentleness and sensitivity that touches the heart and never sounds maudlin. As the pilot whose plane has crashed in the Sahara, Gere plays it low-key, creating a perfect partner for Osment's interplanetary-traveling, wise-beyond-his-years prince. Gere expresses just the right mix of amusement and bewilderment as the prince interrupts the pilot's efforts to repair his plane with a request that he draw a sheep. The adept performances capture the timeless nature of Saint-Exup‚ry's fable about how a child sees the important things in life much more clearly than many adults do. All ages. (Dec.) FYI: Last year marked the 100th anniversary of Saint-Exup‚ry's birth. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Gr 1-4-Actors Richard Gere and Haley Joel Osment read Antoine de Saint-Exupery's book with the assistance of several other actors and actresses. A pilot stranded in the desert awakens one morning to see, standing before him, a most extraordinary little fellow, who teaches him the secret of what is really important in life. Gere reads the part of the Pilot, and Osment takes the part of the Little Prince. The reading by all the participants is accomplished with great skill and feeling. Piano and strings provide very lovely background music composed by Alexandre Stankevicius. This abridged recording of the classic book should be welcome in most library collections.-Beverly Bixler, San Antonio Public Library, TX Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.