The Adventures of Pinocchio. An Illustrated Story of a Puppet for Kids by Carlo Collodi

By Carlo Collodi

'The Adventures of Pinocchio' belongs to the definitive list of Children's Classics and is rightfully catalogued as a required reading for boys and girls. It is an exceptionally imaginative story with a beautiful moral lesson.

This is a very engaging story which tells the adventures of a wooden puppet, whose dream is to become a real boy. Small readers will identify themselves with the hero of the fairy tale — together with him, they will go to school, to a puppet theatre, become victims of a crafty fox and cat, will set off in search of his father Geppetto, will love a good blue haired fairy, will run away to the Land of Toys, will perform in the circus, be swallowed by a shark and happily survive many other exciting adventures. With Pinocchio, little readers will understand that with a good heart and perseverance, our wildest desires can be fulfilled.

This new adaptation of Carlo Collodi's universally loved tale retains its original beauty and lively language, yet is tailored for a contemporary audience. This edition is suitable for young readers themselves or to be read aloud as a bedtime story.
Join Pinocchio on his adventures — it is a journey not to be missed!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tom eMusic
• Release date: Feb 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9781623210571

Carlo Collodi

<p>Carlo Collodi is the pen name of Italian author Carlo Lorenzini, creator of the beloved children’s character, Pinocchio. A Tuscan who fought in Italy’s wars of unification, Collodi was already a famous novelist and popular translator of French fairy tales when he began to contribute chapters in the life of a marionette to Italy’s first newspaper for children, <em>Il Giornale per i Bambini</em>. The adventures of the disobedient puppet were an immediate success and Pinocchio’s story has been translated and adapted numerous times, including the classic 1940 animated production from Walt Disney. Collodi died in 1890.</p>

Book preview

PINOKIO_2013.jpg

Carlo Collodi

The Adventures

of Pinocchio

Illustrations by Jack Beetle

Text by Tamara Fonteyn

10789.jpg7158.jpg

Cover by

Jack Beetle

Translation and Adaptation by

Benson Torrent

Matthew Zamoyski

Typesetting by

Magda Lena Rook

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

© Copyright by Tom eMusic

Published by Tom eMusic at Smashwords

ISBN 978-1-62321-057-1

Tom eMusic

www.tomemusic.com

New York 2013

A Talking Piece of Wood

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Once upon a time there lived…

A king! my little readers will all call out.

Oh no, Children, not this time! It was not a king, but just a piece of wood, an ordinary piece of firewood, useful only for burning in the fireplace to keep you warm and cosy. Nobody knows quite how or why, but one morning, this uninspiring object found its way to the workshop of an old carpenter, Mr Cherry.

At the sight of the piece of wood, Mr Cherry became very happy. He rubbed his hands and muttered under his breath:

This wooden block could not have come at a better moment. I will use it to make a leg for that broken table!

Without waiting a second longer, he took a razor-sharp tool and began to shape the wood. However, as he was getting down to work, much to his astonishment, he heard a squeaky voice.

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Please be careful! Do not hit me too hard!

Kind-hearted Mr Cherry froze. He looked helplessly around the room to try and see where the little voice had come from. But the speaker, or rather the squeaker, was nowhere to be seen!

I must be hearing things in my old age! Mr Cherry chuckled to himself, smiling at his own apparent foolishness.

He grabbed his tool and hit the wooden block hard.

Ouch, ouch, it hurts! It hurts terribly! squeaked the little voice, and it then protested crossly:

Hey! Don’t be such a bully!

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This time Mr Cherry was really not so sure. He looked around the room nervously. He became very agitated and really quite scared. Was he feeling quite alright? Was he imagining things? Was he hearing things? In short, was he perhaps becoming a little bit mad?

Geppetto

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Come in! answered Mr Cherry in an uncertain voice, for this talking piece of wood had given him the creeps, and by now he was feeling very nervous.

Into the shop came little old Geppetto, a friend of Mr Cherry’s. He had a ruddy complexion, which always made him look cheerful and full of good health.

Good morning, my friend, he began.

Good morning, Geppetto, Mr Cherry greeted him cheerfully, for in truth, he welcomed the distraction. What brings you to my humble abode?

I have come here to ask you a favour!

I am at your service.

This morning I had an excellent idea. I decided to make myself a wooden puppet! But this will be no ordinary puppet – he will be able to dance, fence, walk a tightrope and turn somersaults. In essence, he will be a puppet of many talents. With him I might travel the globe, earning decent money, more than enough for a slice of bread and a glass of wine. I have come to ask you for a piece of wood from which I shall carve this great puppet of mine. Do you have anything suitable for me?

I most surely do, said a delighted and very relieved Mr Cherry. I have just the piece of wood that you are looking for, he said smiling.

He reached for the talking block of wood, which he handed to his friend. Geppetto was delighted. He clutched the gift under his arm, thanked his friend most profusely and returned home.

Geppetto Carves a Wooden Puppet

Having returned home, Geppetto began making his dream puppet.

But what shall I name him? said the old man, concentrating on his precious block of wood. I know – I will call him Pinocchio. I used to know an entire family of Pinocchios: Pinocchio the father, Pinocchia the mother and Pinocchi the children. They were an excellent family.

The puppet was far from complete, but Geppetto had already made the hair, the forehead and the eyes. Yet he had a surprise coming his way! Suddenly, the puppet’s eyes seemed to wake up. They blinked a couple of times, looked around the room and settled on Geppetto. Naturally, Geppetto was more than a little taken aback. It was not a comfortable feeling being stared at by a half-finished puppet!

Hey, stop staring at me like that. I said stop it!

But Geppetto received no answer. He thought that it might be a trick of the light, so he shrugged his shoulders, resumed his work and began shaping the nose. Hardly had he finished the nose when it began to grow. Was he imagining things? No, it was definitely getting bigger! It stretched and stretched and stretched until it became two or three times the size it should have been. He began to work on the mouth. However, as he was putting the finishing touches to it, the mouth began to mock him, and the lips twisted in a strange smile.

Stop laughing at me! shouted Geppetto – by now he was frightened and angry.

By way of an answer, the mouth stopped laughing and stuck out its tongue at

Reviews for The Adventures of Pinocchio. An Illustrated Story of a Puppet for Kids by Carlo Collodi

[antao-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

(Original Review, 1981-05-20)I am reading the English version of Pinocchio; I read it, obviously many times in my language and the other day I found a small book with this title and I was curious to see how it was in a different language from mine. I also want to "invite him for dinner" as it is the title of a context of a famous Italian newspaper (writing an invitation for a character of a book at your choice) but I have not yet written a word. I am not too keen on inviting to meals, it means extra work and I did it enough. But maybe by reading it I’ll get inspired.I read Pinocchio in a dual English/Italian text. My Italian is pretty much limited to what I have gleaned from endless listening to the Mozart/da Ponte operas, so I only occasionally referred to the original language. I did come away with the word (and concept) “tornagusto”, a kind of appetizer taken mid-meal, between courses. The word occurs in the scene in which the Fox buys an elaborate meal with Pinocchio’s gold. I’ve since learned that it isn’t a common word in Italian and may be a Collodi coinage. It’s likely that a tornagusto is only needed for overindulged appetites, which definitely happens in my reading from time to time. That’s proven a useful concept in my reading life – having temporarily exhausted my interest in a particular branch of reading, I turn to a short work or essay collection as a kind of mental “tornagusto.”The peculiarity of Pinocchio is that his nose grows when he tells lies (I bet you didn’t know this…); imagine what would happen if it was so also for us? Particularly politicians...there would be real fun, I suppose.[2018 EDIT: Tornagusto is a sort of" feel the taste again", the flavour and the pleasure of life, of reading and of many things, in the end. Nice, I think that from time to time we all need a tornagusto. But the pleasure of music do not need one : it is all over, I can hear the chirping chirping sound of a bird conversation in the garden through my open window and I do not need tornagusto to appreciate the beauty of spring, here again after a long period of cold and rain. And Mozart...I love, I adore him. Since I was a little boy, I always found him absolutely marvellous, and it helped me in several life instances...tornagusto listening to the serenata in sol magggiore opera etc., and it’ll all melt into that fascinating air.]

[abergsman-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed reading this to my daughter, it was the first time for both of us. Yes, there is a talking cricket, but thankfully his name is not Jiminy. The Blue Fairy has a very prominent role in the original story, she is whimsical, complex character.

This edition, in particular, is utterly enchanting. The illustrations by Italian illustrator Roberto Innocenti are beautiful.

I personally believe that children should not only be exposed to sugar-coated stories, so we always aim to read fairy tales in their original form. Pinocchio was no exception, and this was a delightful read.

[alanwpowers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As everyone knows, Pinocchio is a Liar who is penalized (or possibly rewarded in length of nose) every time he lies, very like the current US President, whose silk tie grows longer with every lie.Here's another, my second comparison to our President Pinocchio, Liar-in-Chief. The carpenter who fashioned Pinocchio, Gepetto, forgot to give him ears; nor does the President listen to anyone. Comparison three: neither the President nor Pinocchio reads, but Pinocchio sacrifices to purchase an Abecedario in order to learn to read. And in fact, Pinocchio admires books, later becomes the best student in his class, so good that he will be turned into a real human boy in one day, but a friend leads him away to where there are no books or schools, and Pinocchio and his friend first grow donkey's ears, and eventually get all grey skins, asses. Pinocchio becomes a donkey in a circus.(Ch.11)Comparison four: both Pin and Prez are puppets, who have torn away from their puppeteers, Gepetto and Putin. Or maybe only Pinocchio has left his puppeteer.Comparison five: at one point, Pinocchio limps, and of course the Trumpster has trouble with steps, tries grabbing his wife's hand, who doesn't want to support a 300 lb man going down steps.For comparison six, see my penulitimate paragraph below.The first carpenter who started carving the wood into the puppet was called Maestro Ciliegia/ Cherry because his nose was red as one. As in Dr Seuss, several characters share nasal distinctions.Pinocchio is convinced to bury his five pieces of gold into the Campo dei miracoli, to result in thousands the next day according to a Limping Wolf and a Blind Cat (both faked, though later in the story they become what they faked). When he tries to dig up his treasure, thieves approach and he runs and runs. Several references to thieves, "ceffi" or "ladri."Towards the end Pinocchio turns back from an over-worked donkey to himself, when he swims in the sea and is swallowed by a (whale?) shark, where he finds his Gepetto, old and frail. He escapes with his babbo, who cannot swim, and carries him on his back to shore. When he needs money in Ch 9 (2/3 the way through), he doesn't dare ask for charity, because his Dad Gepetto always said only two kinds of people have the right to beg charity: "i vecchi e i malatti," the old and the sick (p. 61, Aschehoug, 1972). So Collodi in the 19C moralizes directly, didactically.His book ends with Pinocchio turning from a wooden puppet into a real boy, and his babbo is healed, through Pinocchio's reform: Babbo tells him, "When bad boys become good, they give an entirely new and joyful aspect to their house, their entire family." (p.96) Would that the Prez had learned this from his Dad.I recall thinking it has fairly small vocabulary, but it's much longer than Seuss. Theodor Seuss Geisel lived in my hometown of Springfield, MA, on Mulberry St, and set a goal of books with 225-240 different words. Turns out, Easy Reader (Mondadori) edition sorts Pinocchio under 1200 word vocabulary as Collodi (Carlo Lorenzini) wrote it.

[ropppop · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story of "Pinocchio" is told as a graphic novel. It is a classic fiction of a story told a long time ago. A lonely carpenter made a boy out of wood and by tickling that boy with his paint brush, the boy came to life. Like all other boys in this life, he had an urge to find adventure and fun in life and so that little wooden Pinocchio runs away. One of the hard things that Pinocchiio has found out is that if he lies - his nose will grow. Very embarassing to him because he now knows that other people see him lying. He needs to have fun in life and as a young boy too but he needs to grow up and realize that the true part of life is telling the truth and being loved by your family.The scenes in this book are very dramatic and moving. They show a colorful feeling picture that allows the reader to go with the story. At times you will feel that you are a part of Pinocchio. The feelings that he has will flow on to the reader and move your heart. The illustrator showed each part of the characters with the paint brush and pencil. One thing that adds to this story and the illustrations are the colors added to each picture. Not black and white, but happy colors - yellow, red and green. But at times when Pinocchio has reached a hard part, the colors change to brown, dark blue and dreary grey. It helps the reader to understand the true feelings of being in the story. Try it and the reader will understand.

[kylak_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Classic tale.

[pussreboots · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've read the Collodi novel once before when I was a teenager and I remember being put off by both by Pinocchio's arrogance and the surrealism of the world in which the marionette lives. Were it not for Roberto Innocenti's gorgeous illustrations I would have set Collodi's story aside without finishing it.Like so many of the classics from the late 1800s, Pinocchio was serialized in Il Giornale dei Bambini (Children's Journal), starting in 1880. Each installment was a short allegory to teach children how to be independent thinkers (Wiki). Keeping in mind the method of publication and the reason behind it helps to put the disjointed nature of the chapters and the surreal world into perspective. Innocenti's illustrations then bring this world to life.

[nosajeel · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable, if a little repetitive. It's hard to read it through anything other than the Disney version, but it is reasonably different--including a Pinocchio who is meaner and more problem ridden (e.g., within the first few pages he hits the cricket with a hammer), a cat/wolf that are more persistent and interesting than the Disney ones, and an even more moving ending about how Pinocchio finally becomes a boy.

[jacobdecker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love to read the stories as they are written not as Disney has envisioned them. Pinocchio had no real conscious, he killed the cricket with a hammer... I love literature but hate to see what mainstream media has done to it.

[redhedcatie-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this aloud to my girls and we all loved it! A great book with so many great lessons. :) Much better than the movie. Like usual. ;)

[matthewbloome · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

On the whole, this has to be the least satisfying classic I've read over the past couple of months. I genuinely disliked nearly every character in the book, with special emphasis on Pinocchio. I was rooting for the fireplace rather than the real boy angle.

[auntieknickers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book is better than the Disney movie -- which was still a good movie. I've also seen a wonderful theatrical production at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. Another one I ought to reread.

[gold_gato-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Greg Hildebrandt's tremendous illustrations accompany this edition of the children's classic, and the art brings the wooden boy to life on its own. There are twenty-one full color paintings with colors that simply dash out at you. This volume is the Little Unicorn edition, which means the original story is abridged so the illustrations can take center stage. Simply wonderful. This book begs for a cold cloudless night and a hot steaming mug of hot cocoa.

Sized for small hands

Book Season = Winter

[hae1yu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good edition, good artwork, good story. The stories in this Classic Collection are well-done. The story is told in clear but lively language meant to ensure children stay captivated. On every facing page is good artwork.

[dbsovereign · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great translation of a wonderful story that is as bleak as it is amazing! Who says fairy tales cannot be brutal? Grimm right...

[thewallflower-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is book is awesome. In the first 13 pages, Gepetto gets into a fist fight, Pinocchio gets Gepetto sent to prison, then he kills Jiminy Cricket with a hammer. This is great!As you can tell this book is far removed from the Disney version. Everybody's a jerk. Must be an Italian thing. I'm not sure who this book was audienced to -- little boys maybe? -- but the language still holds up. The culture does not. It's super easy to read, but the plot is not terribly coherent, and there's no unifying force. It seems like 65% of the book is just Pinocchio being bad, then, when he realizes he's about to get burnt or hanged or shot, he suddenly cries, "oh no, I'll never be bad again", and he is saved. Then he goes and does it again. Reminds me of the American prison system. Must be required reading for lawyers. The storytelling is terribly unpolished and jagged. There's no unifying story, just Pinocchio running around getting into trouble. After about halfway, it starts getting obnoxious, because he has no real goal. He has nothing he wants.I'm really on the fence about the value of this book in terms of today. Would I recommend it for anyone? Would they get anything out of it? Maybe, since the chapters are short and the characters dynamic, they'd get more out of it than I did.

[nandakishore_varma-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

It is always a dicey affair to criticise a popular book: and when it is an acknowledged classic for children, it is even more dangerous. So I agonised a lot over my impressions of Pinocchio: Is it only a matter of personal taste? Am I missing something? Should I rethink my rating based on learned opinions spanning more than a century? In the end, I decided to go with my original evaluation.

This is one of those stories you read and love in comics format or abridged versions before you come into contact with the original. What usually happens is that, those adaptations modify and trim the original tale to suit the sensibilities of the current generation. I also read Pinocchio as a comic book and loved it; however, on reading the original, I find that many of the "creepier" elements had been edited out of that version.

I do not love moral fables for children. The type of story where, for example, the disobedient little lamb is gobbled up by the big, bad wolf, crying with his last breath: "Oh! If I had only listened to my mother!" is terrifying to kids (I speak from personal experience). They are equivalent to the posters of hell which some people were fond of hanging in their drawing rooms during my childhood. In the nineteenth century, when Collodi wrote his story, one can easily understand that this must have been an accepted method of keeping children in line: by frightening them out of their wits. I do not think the modern world will look kindly on that method.

It is not that creepiness by itself is bad. Many fairy tales are frightening, with their suggestions of cannibalism, patricide, incest, torture etc. The difference between the fairy tale and the moral fable is that the fairy tale is a live entity, growing, shrinking and changing shape while travelling from mouth to mouth; the messages are subliminal, interacting with the child's subconscious. The moral fable on the other hand, is "purposeful" - there is a message ("if you do this, then this will happen!") which the author wants to drum into the child's head, usually by using fear as a tool. It is the narrative equivalent of the schoolmaster's swishing cane.

Collodi's story, taken by itself, has many wonderful elements of dark fantasy (the huge Dogfish which swallows ships whole, the snake with a tail which smokes like a chimney, the little white man who converts boys to donkeys and sells them...) and could have made a wonderful fairy tale. However, the moralising on almost every page of what happens to bad boys who do not obey their parents, do not study and tell lies takes all the fun out of it: the voice of the narrator, coming out through various parental figures, becomes sickening. What crowned the whole thing for me was the death of poor Candlewick, Pinocchio's friend, after short life of back-breaking labour as a donkey. Yuck!. I was happy when the story ended.

I would recommend reading it to children with the morality edited out: but why bother? There are better books out there. Or let them read it as a comic book, or watch the Disney movie.

[maskpress · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

PINOCCHIO. THE ADVENTURES OF A MARIONETTE (2013 : 220 PAGES. LARGE PRINT FOR EASY READING - Original edition)Anyone interested in the role of education and a child’s place in society will be well-served to read or reread this timeless classic. As Umberto Eco has argued, although it is written in simple language, Pinocchio is not a simple book. It doesn’t limit itself to one simple, basic moral, but rather deals with many meanings and it is, thus, not only moving and beautiful, but profoundly educational.WHO IS PINOCCHIO?Pinocchio is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883), by the Italian writer Carlo Collodi. Carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a small Italian village, he was created as a wooden puppet, but dreamed of becoming a real boy. Pinocchio refers to a character who is prone to telling lies and fabricating stories for various reasons. Pinocchio learns to control his impulsive personality and shows moral and intellectual growth. Collodi's "Pinocchio", as a fable, doesn’t impose answers on the readers, but rather poses stimulating questions. Non simply a children’s book, "Pinocchio" helps readers to reflect on issues of freedom vs. authoritarianism, what system of education is most effective, how young people can be helped to develop their vocations, and how should we approach adolescent development. Pinocchio has become an icon of modern culture, and one of the most re-imagined characters in the pantheon of children's literature. Pinocchio is known for having a nose that becomes longer when he tells lies (chapter 3). His clothes are made of flowered paper, his shoes are made of wood and his hat is made of bread. Aspects of Pinocchio's character vary, depending on the interpretation, although basic aspects such as his creation as a puppet by Geppetto and the size of his nose changing due to his lies or stress remain present across the various formats. In Collodi's original tale, "Le Avventure di Pinocchio" (1883), Pinocchio, as a child, exhibits obnoxious, bratty, and selfish traits, which will eventually change after being exposed to his father Geppetto's love, the Blue Fairy's benevolent guidance, public education and, most of all, to his direct experience of good and evil.“It must be said that, though written in the nineteenth century, the original children's novel, "Pinocchio", remains as readable as if it had been written in our century, so limpid and simple in its prose, and so musical in its simplicity.” (Umberto Eco)

[JesusJaredML · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As a good classic, you find disturbing things since we are used to Disney stories.

But overall, I find this original work very interesting. (Translated from Spanish)

[anunez1-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

 I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I enjoyed the description used throughout the chapters however in the beginning of the book some details seemed too straight forward. Depending on the student's maturity level and ability to handle such concepts as death and greed this book could be tough for some readers. Although the ending is a pleasant one with Pinocchio and his father being reunited once more, the many adventures Pinocchio endures are scary at times. In addition there is a scene depicted in the text describing the burning off of Pinocchio's feet, the attempted murder of a marionette because of lack of obedience, and the trickery of the fox and cat. These scenes show some very cruel aspects of the world we live in although not many readers would pick up on this at first glance. Overall the message of this story is to follow your inner voice when deciding to do something which may be good or bad. In the end telling the truth is the best policy even if feelings get hurt.

[Alibooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pinocchio, beyond being a wooden boy, is an inconsiderate, stubborn, and disobedient character, through which Carlo Collodi exemplifies those situations that every child must avoid to attract problems to themselves and to their parents.

The adventures of Pinocchio take us through a fantasy world where the villains are disguised as harmless beings and the good ones may seem strict and boring, and so Pinocchio must learn to be aware of his actions and decisions to become a real boy.

Note: I must tell you that at certain moments I remembered Tom Sawyer, a character I hated, ha, ha, ha, and I thought, “Oh my God, Pinocchio is just as annoying and terrible.”

“At least may my misfortune serve as a lesson to all the disobedient boys who have no desire to study...!” (Translated from Spanish)

[MathiasCardona · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think the story of Pinocchio is good; he is a wooden doll that an old man created, and I don't know which fairy gave him life. ? (Translated from Spanish)

[canino68 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have always wanted to read this story; as a child, I was very captivated by the tale of this wooden puppet that eventually turns into a boy. This year, I am focused on reading stories and classic books that cinema or television have, in a way, adulterated. Just like it's fair to watch movies in their original version, it's also right to approach these stories as the writers conceived them. It has been a heartwarming read, a classic tale in every sense, meant to be read aloud to our children, filled with adventures, fun, and a final message that leads us to reflection. It's also true that the book may seem a bit outdated and overly moralistic, but considering it was written in 1883, it can easily be overlooked and enjoyed in full. I definitely recommend it for a good time, and it's ideal to mix in with more erudite readings. And I am not lying... mostly out of fear that my nose will grow...? (Translated from Spanish)

[AlejandroLC · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pinocchio should be thrown in the fire and his ashes buried, what an evil puppet, nothing to do with Disney, but a great book. (Translated from Spanish)

[lovelysoobder · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The fact that Pinocchio didn't learn from what happens to him stressed me out, but at the same time, I felt it was an example of how we are as people while we grow up; even though we are warned, we don't always take advice seriously, and we don't learn to set boundaries. This doesn't bring us anything good. (Translated from Spanish)

[iulianarango · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Created with all the love by Geppetto from a magical piece of wood, a rather mischievous puppet that always gets into trouble, magical characters like the Blue Fairy, the slimy snail, and the villains. A character who will try to learn from life and change his mistakes. In the year 2021, an Italian movie was released featuring Roberto Benigni, very resourceful due to lacking special effects, but it is very faithful to the book. (Translated from Spanish)

[edellaporta-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ok, longer than others by Powell and it has chapters. Like illustrator Alfonso Ruiz. Good for ESL.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't think I even meant to download the ebook for Pinocchio -- it's not something I had on my mental list of books I intended to read. I don't know who translated the version I read, but it was easy enough to read. It reads like quite a light story, but Pinocchio isn't a terribly nice character. He's, well. A boy. A little boy, selfish and without much of a moral compass to call his own. I couldn't really root for him, to be honest, and his moments of compassion and caring for other people seemed just that... moments. I guess he reminded me of Peter Pan a little, in his selfishness and his boyishness. I can imagine a little boy really being somewhat like Pinocchio, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. If the book had been longer or less lightly written, I daresay I wouldn't have liked it at all.

I was glad for the lack of constant overt moralising, like Jiminy in the Disney adaptation. There is a little, of course, but it doesn't really seem to sink into Pinocchio's head... the ending is a little saccharine-sweet, with Gepetto being made young again and Pinocchio turning into a real boy through reforming and so on, but it isn't too irritating.

It was enjoyable as a quick read, as a break from doing essays, and I wonder if I'd have liked it more if I'd read it as a kid, but it didn't really arouse strong feelings either way.

[barb_h_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read the ebook version from the library. This story was so cute and so well written. It reminded me of my childhood when I'd watch the movie and listen to my little record of the soundtrack. It has such a good moral lesson too.

[Barby321 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I like the story of Pinocchio. How the character develops and the different characters that influence him throughout the story. It shows what a child's mind is like, wanting only to play and have fun, not wanting to waste time with school doing homework and studying for exams. But there are things that were never explained, such as why the fairy always changed her appearance. (Translated from Spanish)

[Nathaly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic that everyone should read.
The real story of Pinocchio is incredible, and funny at times. (Translated from Spanish)