Pinocchio (Puffin Classics) Paperback – Unabridged, June 9, 2011

Pinocchio is an Italian children's book that is well worth reading. I have never read this book until now and had only known it from the Walt Disney movie. As with most films, the book is much better. In this case, it is almost an entirely different story.The Disney movie makes the story of Pinocchio sound like a whimsical fantasy about a puppet who wants to be a real boy. The film is all about "when you wish upon a star." The book, on the other hand, starts with a naughty sentient piece of wood. Gepetto is tricked into taking the wood and making a marionette. Immediately, Pinocchio is alive causing Gepetto heartache and trouble, but the woodcarver still calls Pinocchio his son without hesitation. The story follows Pinocchio from one stubborn and foolish choice after another where he reaps the full consequences of his choices being saved only from death. By the end of the book, Pinocchio learns wisdom and virtue the hard way. When Pinocchio becomes a real boy, it is synonymous with being a well-behaved boy. The Story is about listening to good advice and those who love you.I read quite a few reviews which criticized this book for being harsh. It is harsh in the way tradition fairy tales are. Magical and arbitrary thing happen to magnify Pinocchio's choices. The consequences of his choices often lead to near death experiences. The characters tell Pinnochio the truth about his behavior without a filter. The message of the book says that even a boy is responsible for his own choices. This is certainly not the popular sentiment today.I enjoyed this book more than I expected. I also saw layers and layers of wisdom in this spectacular fantasy story. The way the false friends used Pinnochio like a puppet makes sense of what he is versus a real boy. The unconditional love of Gepetto and the fairy show the actions of loving parents. The various adventure translates into the kind of temptations on experiences in life. I believe this would be a good story for children eight years old and older, but they may not grasp the hidden wisdom in the book until much later. Pinocchio is a book well worth reading and rightfully a classic.

Being a classic, Pinocchio often appears in hardback editions with heavy pages. That’s fine for collectors. But it’s nice to have a light, easy-to-carry copy if you plan on reading and re-reading this wonderful book. And people who think the original story is exactly like the Disney version will be in for a surprise. The book goes into Pinocchio’s personality in way more detail, and there are many more characters, situations and places to enjoy reading about. Here and there, it is a tad preachy, but still it’s a delightful story, full of adventure, emotion, and deep-felt love and devotion. It’s easy to see why this Italian book from 1882 still ranks with children and adults as a continual favorite.

A rascal of a toy becomes a kindhearted boy. It is old-school storytelling at its best. Carlo Collodi is a Florentin master.

Our kids loved reading this! Not scary.

This classic book is so enjoyable to children and adults as well! It is full of humor, adventure, and wonderful life lessons!

It is a pleasure reading the Everyman's classic books. I read both their children's series and the adult series. These books are the kind you want to hand down to the next generation. Pinocchio does not disappoint. This is not the Disney version. It is the original. It also contains many illustrations to add to the atmosphere of the story. If you are considering this edition, you will not regret it.

Let me just say…this is not the sweet little Pinocchio you grew up with. I had no idea the original story was this dark! Bought it for my second grader and we had to stop not far into the book because it was waaaay too upsetting to him!

My daughter read this book very quickly, and loved it! It's a little morbid in some areas, but we can't sugar coat life with mere disney style fantasy forever. Life was much harsher when these stories were first written, but let's face it, real life is still like that for some. Just be warned, that if your looking for Disney, this isn't it!