A beautifully put-together volume that retells the Disney version of the Pinocchio story in a children's book format. The illustrations do a good job of capturing the beauty of the movie's animation.

Originally intended this as a Little Free Library book, but I think I'm going to hang on to it for a bit. ( )

This large-format book presents the classic Walt Disney version of Pinocchio in a form delightful for children. At 96 pages, it tells the full story of how the little puppet becomes a "real boy." It has all the classic characters, including the Italian woodcarver Gepetto, his cat Figaro, the Blue Fairy (who gives the puppet life), and Jiminy Cricket (who tries to serve as Pinocchio's conscience). Likewise, there's the untrustworthy fox J. Worthington Foulfellow and his feline friend Gideon, bad boy Lampwick, and the evil Coachman, who turns bad little boys into donkeys.

Pinocchio falls prey to temptation, skipping school join the theater, and then going off with Lampwick to the lovely Pleasure Island (where there's no school, you can loaf all day, and you have all the food and candy you could ever eat). Along with Jiminy, Pinocchio barely escapes Pleasure Island and his fate as a donkey-boy, only to find a bottle with a note in it -- sent by Gepetto, who has been swallowed by Monstro, the whale during his search for his treasured puppet. Pinocchio is swallowed by the whale with Jiminy's help ("Open up, Blubbermouth!", he says, banging on the whale's closed teeth, "I've got to get in there!"), and there he reunites with Gepetto. Then, with courage and ingenuity, Pinocchio manages to accomplish their escape by building a fire in the whale's belly, that induces Monstro to sneeze them out. Finally, having proved himself brave, truthful, and unselfish, he is turned into a real boy by the Blue Fairy. "Now I know that wishes do sometimes come true" says Jiminy Cricket with tears in his eyes.

I had forgotten a lot of the details of the tale over the decades, and am glad to become reacquainted with the story. Of course it has traditional morals (be truthful, brave, and unselfish, and learn to tell right from wrong) but they are presented in an entertaining and surprisingly complex story. And the full- page, color illustrations lying behind the story's text, are truly excellent. ( )

Gepetto wishes his puppet to be a real boy. The good fairy grants his wish and gives Pinocchio a conscience, a cricket named Jiminy. Pinocchio ends up being a show boy after a detour on the way to school. Even after the fairy helps him, he falls into temptation and finds himself on Pleasure Island, scheduled to become a work mule. He sets out to find Gepetto, who is in the belly of a whale, and upon their reunion, they make an escape. In the process, the fairy determines that Pinocchio has become “brave, truthful, and unselfish” and becomes a “real boy”.

This has a hero’s journey in it, with Pinocchio having to prove himself worthy of being a real boy. Poor misguided Pinocchio and not-all-together Jiminy Cricket! Though the characters were well-developed, the setting was not in any way believable. I think most of the Disney stories have a great plot and conflict but also manage to teach some morals and lessons. This story was no different and makes young children realize how important being truthful and staying out of trouble is.

If I were extending this in a classroom, I would let my class watch the movie Pinocchio. We could learn some of the songs and put on a performance for the parents. If we had enough extra help, we could have a very introductory lesson in woodcarving and make out own puppets. We could then write a story and put our puppets together and act out our stories.