The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883)

The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Carlo Collodi.

Stories about a wooden puppet who comes to life.

Pinocchio is among the best-known children’s characters of all time. He appears in several books and dozens of movies dating back to the early days of silent films. 260 language translations. After the Bible, the most widely read book in the world. One of the best-selling books of all time.

The best-known version is the animated Disney movie from 1940. The stories are similar, but as with any version by the House of the Mouse, they have cleaned up quite a bit.

The Pinocchio of these original tales is rambunctious, disrespectful, and easily led astray. His adventures. Reading these are familiar, Geppetto and the lying and the nose. There’s even a talking cricket! He’s robbed, meets a blue-haired fairy who claims she is dead. Pinocchio ends up being lynched and thought to be dead.

There are plenty more adventures waiting for Pinocchio. All Geppetto wants is for his wooden boy to be good and go to school.

The stories are both familiar and brand new. They are certainly more interesting than what most of us know. I found myself amused and delighted by the experience.  Here was another classic book that I thought I knew, only to discover that it is even better than I imagined.

Why You Will Like It – Lively tales of a silly puppet and outrageous adventures.

Rating – **** Recommended