This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are our own.
Everybody knows Pinocchio thanks to the Disney movie released in 1940. Fewer have read the original book by Collodi.
The Adventures of Pinocchio was first published as a series in one of the first children’s magazines in Italy.
In the original story, Pinocchio meets a grisly end. However, the children complained so much that the editors had to beg Collodi to write a different ending.
That’s how the story of Pinocchio as we know it nowadays was created.
What it’s about
The story of Pinocchio begins with Mastro Geppetto deciding to build a wooden puppet, which surprises him by coming to life.
Pinocchio is not an easy child and soon leaves home, getting into all sorts of dangers. He will have to learn the true meaning of loyalty, righteousness and virtue to become a real child.
What I liked best about The Adventures of Pinocchio
- Collodi teaches us to beware of scams. The fox and the cat trick Pinocchio into ‘planting’ his five golden coins in the ground, hoping to grow a money tree. As well as learning how to become a good person, Pinocchio also has to learn to beware of scams and use his own critical thinking.
- It criticises the society of its time. When Pinocchio goes to the police to report the robbery, he ends up in jail himself for crimes of foolishness. This is Collodi’s way of criticising his own government, which imprisoned common people for small things while many politicians and businessmen got away with far bigger crimes.
- Geppetto is a strong single-father character. Mastro Geppetto is probably one of the first single fathers to appear in a children’s book. He’s an extremely positive character who tries his best to teach Pinocchio how to live a virtuous and ethical life.
Who would like The Adventures of Pinocchio?
Children all ages will enjoy this Italian masterpiece, as will every parent interested in reading one of the most famous classics of Italian literature.
While adults will be able to enjoy the subtle political critique, children will love its many characters and plot twists.
In many ways, Pinocchio is similar to Dickens novels such as Oliver Twist and David Copperfield – the main character is born (or created) into a poor family and has to deal with many scammers and fraudsters. So if you like those stories, you may like this one too.
In summary
Whether you have already seen the Disney movie or not, The Adventures of Pinocchio is definitely worth reading to learn the original story of the most famous puppet in literature.