Classics Challenge: The Little Prince

I picked The Little Prince as my children's novel for the Back to the Classics Challenge. I'm sticking with that because I do think it is marketing as a children's novel and I know its read by a lot of children, especially in France. Also, it's Kid's Club eligible according to Barnes and Noble :-)

But I feel like its really a pseudo-children's book. Like The Giving Tree and I'll Love You Forever. And at the risk of ranting over a subject I might have ranted over before, I really don't like those two. I'll Love You Forever isn't quite as bad as The Giving Tree but neither is a favorite. The Giving Tree should be thankful Rainbow Fish is around to take my WORST CHILDRENS BOOK EVER award. I despise the Rainbow Fish with every fiber of my children's book loving soul. Okay, moving on. 

The Little Prince is similar to both of those in that people seem to really love it OR really hate it. I thought it was - okay. It wasn't a "heart book" for me, but I can easily see how it would capture someone's imagination and be that to them, especially if read at the right time for whatever reason. I didn't hate it either. I thought it was interesting. And I mean actually interesting, not "interesting" as a euphemism for weird/quirky/I don't know what to do with this but I need an adjective. It just has some interesting ideas presented in a unique way. And very quotable. But I also didn't really feel very connected to the characters or what was happening. I know I was supposed to care about what happened to the little prince, but I didn't really. And maybe I would have if I had been a kid. But then I don't think I would have actually thought it was interesting as a kid. Maybe a tween would straddle that gulf and care about ideas and characters. It does seem like a lot of people who loved it, first read it as a child but didn't get it so when they re-read it, they have both nostalgia and understanding and maybe its that combination that makes them really adore it. As someone whose felt that way about Narnia, I'm not going to argue with that as a valid experience. I don't know. What's your opinion, if you've read it, would you consider it a children's book?