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Pinocchio
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10 new or used available from $72.75
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Product Description
First published in 1883, Pinocchio has earned its place as one of the most beloved fables of all time. Pinocchio is the story of a wooden puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy. Lavishlylovinglyillustrated by talented newcomer Gris Grimly, this delightful new edition of Pinocchio contains every word of Collodis original. Pinoccho is the perfect gift for children of all ages. Honest!
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #827310 in Books
- Published on: 2002-10-04
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 224 pages
Editorial Reviews
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Italian
About the Author
Carlo Collodi is the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini. Born in 1826, he worked as a journalist before publishing The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1883. Translated into more than ninety languages, Pinocchio has never been out of print.
Gris Grimley is the illustrator of many books for young readers, including The Cockatrice Boy by Joan Aiken and A Collection of Edgar Allan Poe. He lives in Los Angeles.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
How it came to pass that Master Cherry the carpenter found a piece of wood that laughed and cried like a child
There was once upon a time…
“A king!” my little readers will instantly exclaim.
No, children, you are wrong. There was once upon a time a piece of wood.
This wood was not valuable: it was only a common log like those that are burnt in winter in the stoves and fireplaces to make a cheerful blaze and warm the rooms.
I cannot say how it came about, but the fact is that one fine day this piece of wood was lying in the shop of an old carpenter of the name of Master Antonio. He was, however, called by everybody Master Cherry, on account of the end of his nose, which was always as red and polished as a ripe cherry.
No sooner had Master Cherry set eyes on the piece of wood than his face beamed with delight; and, rubbing his hands together with satisfaction, he said softly to himself:
“This wood has come at the right moment; it will just do to make the leg of a little table.”
Having said this he immediately took a sharp ax with which to remove the bark and the rough surface. Just, however, as he was going to give the first stroke, he remained with his arm suspended in the air, for he heard a very small voice saying imploringly, “Do not strike me so hard!”
Picture to yourselves the astonishment of good old Master Cherry!
He turned his terrified eyes all round the room to try and discover where the little voice could possibly have come from, but he saw nobody! He looked under the bench—nobody; he looked into a cupboard that was always shut—nobody; he looked into a basket of shavings and sawdust—nobody; he even opened the door of the shop and gave a glance into the street—and still nobody. Who, then, could it be?
“I see how it is,” he said, laughing and scratching his wig. “Evidently that little voice was all my imagination. Let us set to work again.”
And taking up the ax, he struck a tremendous blow on the piece of wood.
“Oh! Oh! You have hurt me!” cried the same little voice dolefully.
This time Master Cherry was petrified. His eyes started out of his head with fright, his mouth remained open, and his tongue hung out almost to the end of his chin, like a mask on a fountain. As soon as he had recovered the use of his speech, he began to say, stuttering and trembling with fear.
“But where on earth can that little voice have come from that said Oh! Oh!? Here there is certainly no living soul. Is it possible that this piece of wood can have learnt to cry and to lament like a child? I cannot believe it. This piece of wood, here it is; a log for fuel like all the others, and thrown on the fire it would about suffice to boil a saucepan of beans…How then? Can anyone be hidden inside it? If anyone is hidden inside, so much, the worse for him. I will settle him at once.”
So saying, he seized the poor piece of wood and commenced beating it without mercy against the walls of the room.
Then he stopped to listen if he could hear any little voice lamenting. He waited two minutes—nothing; five minutes—nothing; ten minutes—still nothing!
“I see how it is,” he then said, forcing himself to laugh and pushing up his wig. “Evidently the little voice that said Oh! Oh! was all my imagination! Let us set to work again.”
Nevertheless, he was very frightened, so he tried to sing to give himself a little courage.
Putting the ax aside, he took his plane, to plane and polish the bit of wood; but while he was running it up and down he heard the same little voice say laughing:
“Have done! You are tickling me all over!”
This time poor Master Cherry fell down as if he had been struck by lightning. When he at last opened his eyes he found himself seated on the floor.
His face was quite changed; even the end of his nose, instead of being crimson, as it was nearly always, had become blue from fright.
Illustrations © 2002 by Gris Grimly
Customer Reviews
The Story As It Was Meant To Be!
Before Disney Studios produced their version of "Pinocchio" there was the original by Carlo Collodi, and it's a story everyone should read. The little wooden head didn't start out as the adorable creature you are probably used to; this is a bad boy with a deeply buried heart of gold. In fact, there is a veritable mountain of bad deeds and decisions for Pinocchio to climb out of to redeem himself and earn humanity. Collodi's dry, sly wit is what has kept this book in print since the 1800s. The author took chances and subjected his characters to torments The Mouse would never dare to draw. Fortunately for readers, the perfect tonic for erasing those whimical images is found in the twisted illustrations of Gris Grimly. One look at the cover and you know right away this is hardwood troublemaker just looking for some dilemna to jump into. Grimly's...well...grim creations find a perfect home in this tale of coming-of-age and losing-of-wood.
No matter how much you think you love your "Pinocchio" DVD, give this faithful treatment a try. You'll find yourself distressed that you have been missing out on the wickedly funny original all these years. And, you'll be a Grimly fan for life!
Truly a Classic Tale...
I can't say how surprised I was by this book. As a father of a toddler, I've began reading some of the classic children's stories for future consideration, and I was shocked at just how good this was. Prepare your child (or yourself) for a tale that is darker, comical, and so much more rich than the Disney adpatation. For children, Pinnochio has a few nice moral lessons nestled inside. For anyone else, it's a very entertaining read.
A Classic for a Reason
I have to say, my only previous experience with the story of Pinocchio is through the Disney classic cartoon...and boy is this a LOT different than the Disney version! I'm not saying that's a bad thing...far from it in fact, I was just surprised at how selfish and, well...disobedient this little wooden boy was. In this book, Pinnochio isn't a naive boy who gets led astray; he's a selfish, lying, bad-tempered puppet who (for the most part) can't see past his own immediate wants and needs. He constantly makes bad decisions based on spur of the moment desires without thinking about any long term implications. Naturally, he's apologetic and supremely sorry when he gets caught or something bad happens to himself or others as a result of his actions, but he doesn't seem to learn very quickly from these lessons and must repeat them many, many times before he finally "gets it." Similarly, Geppetto isn't 100% of the time a kindly old man; he too has his moments of anger with Pinocchio's behavior. Even the Blue Fairy isn't as kindly and beneficent as Disney made her...she too isn't above pulling a nasty prank or two to show Pinnochio the error of his ways. I think these personality elements resonate with young readers...I think we can all admit that most children push the limits, do things they know they are not supposed to and generally find disobeying to be more fun than obeying (at least at times)...and in that way, Pinocchio is the embodiment childhood. He does all the things they've been told not to and reaps the rewards or pays the price for it! I think that is what makes this a timeless classic that has been loved for generations. I think that there are a lot of dark humor and plot points in this book (the blue fairy's death, Geppetto's getting lost as sea, the attempted assassination of Pinocchio, etc.), that it's effective and riveting (especially for young readers) and enjoyable...it also makes his final transformation into a real boy all the more rewarding when it finally happens. I have to admit I enjoyed reading this far more than ever enjoyed watching the Disney cartoon version. Overall, it's a rich, dark, and sometimes humorous tale that is illustrated wonderfully in this version by Gus Grimly. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys reading the non-sanitized versions of Grimm's Fairy Tales (and other similar stories). It has all the familiar plot elements of the one we grew up watching (in America, at least) but is a much darker story than Disney gave us. I give it 4 stars and I would definitely buy it for my permanent library.
