Product Description

Everyone in town knows Pinocchio, the puppet, but what about Pinocchio, the boy? From Lane Smith comes the story of what happens to Pinocchio on the very first day after his wish to be a real boy comes true. But there's one problem: Pinocchio was asleep at the time and he doesn't realize that he's now a boy! No one else in town recognizes him, either-not his talking cricket, not the audience in the puppet theater, and not even his father, Geppetto. Set in a town that's a winter wonderland, this stunningly illustrated sequel to a classic tale will appeal to children and adults alike.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #405293 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Amazon.com Review
Carlos Collodi's age-old Pinocchio story about the carver Geppetto's wooden puppet who comes to life is a bit unbelievable. Former puppet Pinocchio learns that the hard way when he hits the streets of Collodi in his new life as a flesh-and-blood boy in Lane Smith's thoroughly hip Pinocchio the Boy or Incognito in Collodi.

Smith, innovative illustrator of Jon Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Stories and at least 20 more books, picks up the Pinocchio story from the moment the puppet's wish is granted and he wakes up as a boy. The trouble is, the Blue Fairy grants his wish while he's sleeping--and then forgets to tell him! So the next day Pinocchio is very confused indeed when he heads out into the wintry day to get some chicken soup for feverish Geppetto and finds that his good friend the cricket won't even speak to him. On his way he encounters a girl who thinks the boy is very odd indeed, carrying on about talking bugs, growing noses, and a dad who's home sick after spending the night in a fish. As she says, "your other stories were hard enough to swallow, I wouldn't push it with that in-a-fish sleepover stuff."

To make a long story short, the skeptical girl's mother turns out to be the Blue Fairy, Geppetto is excited that his puppet son is a real live boy, and they all go ice skating at Collodi Rink. Smith's clever collage art--arranged in inventive comic-strip-style panels by designer Molly Leach--casts a modern new light on this sawdusty old tale. (Ages 6 and older) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly
Consummate jester Smith (Baloney [Henry P.]) revisits the classic tale of a misbehaving puppet, and needless to say, this ain't 19th-century Italy. Smith summarizes all of the Pinocchio story in two pages of 50s-retro cartoons, then zooms in for a gauzy close-up of the Blue Fairy changing the marionette into a flesh-and-blood boy. There's one minor glitch: "That nutty fairy had changed him while he was asleep," and Pinocchio doesn't look in the mirror when he wakes up. He's too preoccupied with poor Geppetto, who's "sick and wet from that fish's belly," and he needs to buy some chicken soup in Collodi City (a dense comic-book metropolis and a subtle reference to the original author, Carlo Collodi). Smith's playful subtitle begins to make sense. As a real boy, Pinocchio is persona non grata to his friend Cricket and gets booed offstage at "the puppet theater where just last week he was a Big Sensation." Luckily, he finds one friend, a bratty urchin with a surprise connection with his magical benefactor. In addition to providing a sumptuous visual presentation of the events, Smith's artwork places the adventures in an edgy modern space of steep angles and flat geometric planes, chockablock with shop signs, laser-sharp beams of light and cascading snowflakes and polka-dots. Pinocchio heads for home after hearing Geppetto's all-points-bulletin on TV, and eventually his father recognizes him without the wood-grain finish. Smith sidesteps the novel's moralizing and the movie's heartstring-pulling in this airbrush-sleek, sharply designed comic sequel. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4-Pinocchio the Boy picks up where Pinocchio the classic left off, and therein lies the delightfully ingenious plot of Lane's picture book-what would happen if the puppet was turned into a boy, but no one, not even Pinocchio himself, realized it. Pinocchio is off to the town of Collodi in search of some chicken soup for an ailing Geppetto, who is in bed cold and feverish from being in that fish's belly in the original story. With no money for soup, the boy tries to get a job-to no avail. He wishes that Cricket were there to help him. Of course, when he does run into his friend, Pinocchio is unrecognizable, due to his new fleshy appearance. Smith's zaniness enters full force at this stage of the story, inserting into the text a girl who follows Pinocchio along declaring, "This kid needs help!" and is with him when Geppetto is seen weeping on a big TV screen in the middle of Collodi's Main Street area, worried about Pinocchio's whereabouts. Smith neatly ties together the loose strings of the story and contributes his usual blend of wild and wacky mixed-media collage illustrations, done in wintry shades of blues and lavenders with a lacy white snow falling ever gently in the background. This creative "sequel" to Pinocchio is a perfect melding of story and illustration.
Lisa Gangemi Kropp, Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

The Story Continues.....
"Last week in a nutshell..." So begins Lane Smith's delightfully manic tale of what happened next. After a speedy recap of Pinocchio's exploits from the original story, Mr Lane ends his introduction with: And so, with a wave of her wand, the Blue Fairy granted this wish and turned the wooden puppet Pinocchio into a real boy. But he had no idea! That nutty fairy had changed him while he was asleep." That belly of the whale incident has left Geppetto pretty sick. So Pinocchio sets out early the next morning towards beautiful downtown Collodi to buy his dad some chicken soup. He doesn't know he's a real boy, and no one from his past, Cricket, puppetmaster, shopkeeper, even his own father doesn't seem to recognize him now that he's flesh and blood. But soon a little girl enters the picture, and that's when all the fun begins..... Mr Smith's spare and irreverent text is entertaining and engaging. But it's his bold, bright, and busy collage artwork that really steals the show. Each stunning illustration is filled with vibrant color, dazzling wit and playful humor, and children will want to stop, linger, and explore before turning the page. With an appropriate, fairy tale happily-ever-after ending, Pinocchio The Boy is a marvelous visual feast, and an updated, fun-filled romp youngsters 4-8 won't want to miss.

A Very Enjoyable Book!
We think that Pinocchio: The Boy, written and illustrated by Lane Smith, is a very enjoyable book to read. It has great illustrations made by collages. You probably should read it by yourself, because there are lots of little illustration details that you'd never notice if you read it out loud. We give Pinocchio a hundred million stars! It's a little different from the real Pinocchio story. This book is more like a sequel to Pinocchio. The story is about a blue fairy who turns Pinocchio into a real boy, But when he wakes up, he sees that his owner is sick. Pinocchio travels all over town to look for soup for Geppetto. This book could be enjoyed by all ages. Eve, Holly, Tyeler, Kate and Elizabeth all enjoyed it!

A book for a book report
I found this book Pinocchio a rather wierd book because it wasn't what the whole story was like and it kinda went really fast and skipped alot of the original story but it still got to the point and I could still understand what the story was really trying to tell me. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read,.....you'll enjoy it!