Pinocchio Books - a Childhood Memory

I remember when I was a child my dad told me a few stories about Pinocchio the wooden puppet (or marionette) with a long nose. He didn't tell the entire story from beginning to end, just certain adventures of Pinocchio. I had also seen pictures of him in various publications.

Then one day when I was in kindergarten I was diagnosed with a rather serious illness and had to be hospitalized. While I was in the hospital my parents bought me a two-volume set of Pinocchio comic books. My mom would sit by my bed and read the book to me. The pictures made it more enjoyable to me.

One thing that kind of disturbed me was when Pinocchio killed the talking cricket. I thought that was really mean. I was happy when the cricket came back to life (actually, it was his ghost but at the time I didn't know what a ghost was). By the way, this talking cricket is known as Jiminy in the 1940 Disney animated film but not in the original story.

Well, as it turned out, the doctor had made the wrong diagnosis. My illness was not serious at all, and I was soon discharged. We had finished reading the first Pinocchio book in the hospital, and continued on with the second one at home.

The Pinocchio story has a happy ending as the wooden marionette turns into a real boy as a reward for his good deeds after going through a number of (mis)adventures. So there is a parallel between the story of Pinocchio and my own situation at the time I was reading the books.

"The Adventures of Pinocchio" is known as a classic of children's literature written by an Italian author Carlo Collodi. But did you know that Collodi did not originally intend it to be a children story?

The original version dealt with serious issues and did not have a happy ending. In it Pinocchio was punished for all his terrible deeds and died. At the request of his editor, Collodi added a series of chapters to the novel, introducing the Fairy with Turquoise Hair (also known as the "Blue Fairy" in the Disney version) who saves Pinocchio and in the end transforms him into a real human when he proves himself. Hence, the story became suitable for children and provides a moral lesson.

The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian author Carlo Collodi is one of the most well-known novel for children. It was originally created as a serial between 1881 and 1883. In February 1883 it was completed as a book for children. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio, an animated wooden marionette, and his poor father, a woodcarver named Geppetto. It is considered a classic of children's literature and has spawned many derivative works of art, such as Disney's 1940 animated movie of the same name, and commonplace ideas such as a liar's long nose.

Learn more about Pinocchio on Wikipedia.

Printed in Italy on patina paper, this new edition of the Pinocchio Book is the only English edition of the original Italian children classic in print approved by the National Foundation of Carlo Collodi in Tuscany. M. L. Rosenthal, the well-known American poet did the honor of translating it from the original Italian text following the release of the Italian Pinocchio film.

You will admire the stunningly beautiful illustrations in this book as they are reproductions of paintings created for the centennial of Pinocchio in Tuscany by Roberto Ciabani, a celebrated Florentine painter who was designated magnificent master of Florence, Italy for his artistic work.

Although the story of Pinocchio is a classic children's literature, adults can certainly enjoy and learn from it as well, notably on how to resolve the conflict between seemingly contradictory desires: being a free spirit following one's passion for unbridled pleasures and fantasies versus becoming the ideal of a responsible, caring person.

Is it any wonder that Pinocchio remains the most widely published book in the world after the Bible?

Did you read Pinocchio books as a kid? Do you read them to your children? Share your thoughts or just let me know you came to visit.