There are books which, without being complicated, quietly form our characters – not through their difficulty, but by addressing something vital, something we frequently lose sight of when we become adults. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince is one of these exceptional books.
Though it appears to be a story for children, it’s in fact a philosophical consideration of friendship, duty, solitude, love and the gradual loss of imagination which often accompanies maturity. It’s a book that doesn’t state much directly, but nevertheless affects nearly everyone who reads it.
At Escola Caravela, we are of the opinion that books like this shouldn’t be for native speakers and advanced students only: literature shouldn’t be a prize at the end of the study process, but rather a component of the process itself. This is the exact thinking which produced our A2 pedagogical version of O Principezinho – for students of European Portuguese.
This article explains the reasons for this adaptation, how it was meticulously re-written, and what makes it a useful learning resource for both students and teachers.
Why literature is important in language study
A lot of language courses concentrate nearly entirely on function – ordering food, using the telephone, completing documents. These skills are important, but are insufficient. Language isn’t simply a means of survival; it’s also a means of understanding another culture, making emotional connections and considering life through a new perspective.
Literary texts allow students to experience language in its most human form. They show how people think, feel, pause, joke and dream. When students are exposed only to practical texts, something is lacking: depth.
The issue, of course, is availability. Authentic literature is frequently too linguistically difficult for beginner levels. That’s where adaptation is vital – not ‘simplification’ in the sense of making things less intelligent, but pedagogical intervention.
Why The Little Prince is perfect for adaptation
Not all literary works are suitable for adaptation. Many classics rely heavily on complicated sentence structures, puns, or cultural allusions which are hard to translate. The Little Prince is not like that. Its strength is in a clear story outline, brief scenes and conversations, symbolic meaning which goes beyond language, and emotionally strong but grammatically simple concepts.
The story poses universal questions:
- Why are figures so important to adults?
- What does it mean to be responsible for somebody?
- Why is time more significant than ownership?
- Why are the most important things unseen?
These questions can be investigated even with limited language skills, provided the language is well-directed.
The difficulty of adapting a classic for A2 level
Adapting O Principezinho for A2 Portuguese students isn’t a mechanical process of making sentences shorter or substituting words. It needs constant equilibrium – keeping sentences short without sounding unnatural, reducing vocabulary without losing meaning, making the grammar easier without disturbing the natural flow.
In this version, the original text was totally rewritten, not simply shortened. Each chapter was reconstructed with a firm emphasis on controlled, repeated vocabulary, to help students recognize patterns and gain confidence; straightforward sentence organization, in line with CEFR A2 structures; frequent dialogue, which helps understanding; and logical connection, to ensure the story goes smoothly from chapter to chapter.
The result is a text that seems literary, but is still easily read and available to students who haven’t reached B1 level.
Keeping the story’s spirit
One of the main worries in literary adaptation is loss – loss of poetry, emotion and meaning. In this edition, the aim was the reverse: to keep the emotional and philosophical center of the original work. The Little Prince still falls for his delicate flower, learns about duty through looking after others, discovers the meaning of friendship with the fox, and faces the illogical thinking of the adult world.
Nothing vital is taken out. What is altered is the route the reader takes to these ideas, a route adjusted to the student’s linguistic situation.
Students aren’t expected to understand every word. They are invited to understand the message, to think, and to make personal meaning. In language study, this is where real improvement happens.
European Portuguese: a requirement often missed
An important feature of this book is the range of language it employs. A lot of the simplified readers currently for sale are in general or Brazilian Portuguese, or follow a neutral form that doesn’t show what people really say and write in Europe.
This version was made specifically for people learning European Portuguese – students who live, or intend to live, in Portugal and teachers who work in Portuguese as a foreign language classes in Portugal or Europe.
The language is truly European Portuguese, but still at the right level for learners; the ways expressions are used, the speed of the sentences, and what’s expected when people communicate, all match how Portuguese is in fact used in Portugal. For students, this makes a connection between Portuguese in class, daily life, and what they find in books.
How the book can be used in teaching
Even though it’s definitely good to read for enjoyment, this version was thought of as a flexible teaching aid. It can be used in class – with reading that’s helped and talked about – for self-directed, wide reading, in Portuguese as a foreign language reading groups, and as a step from A2 to early B1. Teachers can work on understanding without using translation, questions to make people think, speaking based on the topics and improving knowledge of words through going over them and the situations they’re in.
Many of our students say that completing this book gives them a strong feeling of having done something: “I read a proper book in Portuguese.” That lift in confidence is very valuable in teaching.
Wide reading and feeling involved
Modern teaching of languages increasingly acknowledges how important wide reading is – reading longer pieces for pleasure and what they mean, not constant detailed study. This book was made with exactly that in mind. Because the story really pulls people in, students stay interested, put up with things not being certain, depend more on what’s around the words than translation, and naturally grow to read fluently.
Feeling involved cuts down on mental tiredness. When students care about the people in the story, they read more, and read better. The Little Prince is good for this, because it speaks to feelings everyone has, whatever their age, country or background.
More than just language
Reading O Principezinho in Portuguese isn’t just a language practice. It’s also a way into European literature, philosophical thought in simple language, and things that people of all ages across cultures know.
For a lot of our students, this book becomes something to begin a conversation with – something they can talk about with Portuguese speakers, teachers, or classmates. It puts them into the culture, not just looking at it from the outside.
Details
For people who like things clear and open, here are the main facts about this version:
Title: O Principezinho (teaching version)
Version by: David Domingos
Language level: A2 (CEFR)
People it’s for: People learning European Portuguese as a foreign language
Size: A5
Length: 70 pages
Sound included: Yes
Year: 2026
Publisher / Editor: ® Caravela – Portuguese for foreigners
The original work by Saint-Exupéry is not protected by copyright. This version is a teaching aid made only for education. All rights to the changed text and the way it’s organized for teaching belong to the publisher.
Final thought
Some books help us learn a language; others help us learn about ourselves. This version of O Principezinho is meant to do both.
At Escola Caravela, we think that learning a language shouldn’t be limited to what it does and set rules. It should include beauty, doubt, imagination and feeling. After all, as the fox tells us: “What is essential is invisible to the eyes”. The same is true for language learning, and for the stories that go with us on our journeys.