The Little Prince book report

The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, is a beautiful fiction book that tells about a boy, called the Little Prince, who goes planet hopping from his planet, B612, to our very own, seeing many flaws in adults along the way. “But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart...” the Little Prince said. He then meets an adult pilot that thinks differently from the grown-ups, and with him, a beautiful friendship begins. This is where the Little Prince’s testimony is told.

When the Little Prince arrives on Earth, from his planet hopping, he meets a lot of characters in the story that makes him curious. One of them is the pilot. The pilot is an adult who has a mind like the Little Prince because he sees what adults don’t see. The pilot finds true happiness in simple everyday things. They both share the same interests in everything that they do. The Little Prince then explains everything that has happened to him from the beginning, from his planet, B612, to our very own planet Earth. He says that he met many adult-like characters that don’t know how to see the beauty of the simplicity of things like the beings of Asteroid 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, and 330. He also says that he met characters like those of Asteroid 325 to 330 on Earth. As the Little Prince explains his journey to the pilot, they both find that they too had started their own together. In the end, the Little Prince finds that he has found a new friend in the pilot, and he wishes to never let that go, yet he had to say goodbye.

In the book, the Little Prince finds many flaws in adults. Many adults derive satisfaction from material things. They are always looking for new things to keep them satisfied and comfortable. The Little Prince teaches us that happiness is not what you want, but is what you already have. “The men where you live,” said the Little Prince, “raise five thousand roses in the same garden— and they do not find in it what they are looking for.” He says that adults are never happy with what they have because they say what they want is never there, but in reality, like what the Little Prince said, “… what they are looking for could be found in one single rose, or in a little water.” One just has to be contented with what they own and find their own happiness in simple things because even the most flavorless water can be savory if you’d just enjoy it.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote a beautiful fiction that not only entertains its readers with its smoothly written words and the author’s drawn pictures, but also teaches them that people don’t have to own more than what they already do to be happy. With its realistic characters that bring the story to life, the book paints a beautiful story for all children to enjoy and adults to reflect on. The Little Prince is truly a wonderful book.

Feature article

Mrs. Leander: from zero to hero

“Well, I’m gold without the /g/.”

Mrs. Leander is a well-known teacher by the students of Grace Christian College. She teaches Language, Reading, and Filipino in Elementary. She is now “gold without the /g/,” as she usually says when she makes a mistake, blaming it to her age as she can’t hear or see well, but don’t be fooled.  Even though growing white hair makes her look slow and grandmother-like, Mrs. Leander still has a character of a young woman in her late forty’s. The students in Grace Christian College may remember her for her strictness and easily-tempered self, but who is Mrs. Leander, and why is she who she is?

            As a little girl, Mrs. Corazon Leander started as a farmer. Though with little hope to cling to, she had a huge desire to learn more and be more knowledgeable, but due to her lack of money, she was forced to learn little by little, but that did not stop her from reaching her goal. She decided to try to learn by herself. She usually went to a local library to read some books. She made a deal with the librarian that she’d clean the library as long as she can stay as long as she wants to, and she did. She cleaned it daily and read daily. She read many books. Some examples are the Brothers Grimm stories, like the original story of the well known “The Little Mermaid.” She also read many non-fiction books that educated her with many facts about the world. As time passed by, Mrs. Leander learned many things and moved to Quezon City, where she taught at a public school, but after years of teaching them, she decided to teach at a Chinese Christian school, called Grace Christian College, formerly Grace Christian High School. There she thought elementary students grammar and literature. While teaching both languages, English and Filipino, Mrs. Leander has transformed students, from being unruly and lazy children to disciplined adults. “There is no such thing as bobo,” Corazon Leander states, “They are just lazy.” Mrs. Corazon Leander’s journey from a farmer to a teacher truly inspires everyone to strive harder for their goals because nothing is impossible if you put your heart into it, but her journey doesn’t stop there. She is still a teacher, still a life changer, and forever will be a hero to many.