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I did learn all the letters and their sounds and did sound out words, so there was some phonetics there, too.  I imagine that different approaches work better for different kids.  I ought to mention that we didn't stop with Le Petit Prince.  We read a lot of kid's books, too, Dr. Deuss and The Little Engine That Could along with Ogden Nash and Emily Dickinson and, most certainly, Shri Guru Grath Sahib and other Sikh writings.  (The last up in Guru ji's sitting room without a lot of giggling.  Mind you, this was reading lessons, not religion because I was supposed to be Catholic.)  

The main point, though, is less the method than the attitude.  It was fun!  cheerleader  I remember the day when I suggested that the Little Prince do something not in the book.  That was the beginning of my writing lessons.  My messy little composition, as I recall, something like "The Little Prince flew like a bird and swam to the stars" in three languages.  It was fun!  It wasn't until I went to school that I learned that learning was a chore to be gotten through as quickly as possible.