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Pinocchio

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Mischievous, lazy, and full of tricks, the puppet Pinocchio causes trouble for his creator, Geppetto, almost as soon as he comes to life. Yet, more than anything, this naughty and playful creature wants to become a real boy. To make his dreams come true, he must prove himself worthy. Come along on Pinocchio’s amazing journey as he learns—the hard way—what it means to be honest, kind, and, above all, human.

150 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1883

33 people are currently reading
912 people want to read

About the author

Tania Zamorsky

24 books11 followers

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5 stars
1,454 (53%)
4 stars
647 (23%)
3 stars
439 (16%)
2 stars
135 (4%)
1 star
60 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for Adelyne.
1,393 reviews37 followers
April 28, 2025
4 stars.

I've never actually read this story (or, to quote a book buddy, I "only know the Disney version") and happened to pick up a beautiful illustrated Classic Starts edition at my work book sale. It's a beautiful story that's inspired me to keep a lookout for more of these traditional stories, as well as the full-length book. To me, Pinocchio is basically about the puppet's nose growing longer when he lies, Jiminy Cricket (a Walt Disney creation that's not actually in the original story, though there is a "Cricket") and the story with the whale (shark in the original - and I don't understand why this was changed!) but there is actually so much more to it, such as Fairy whom I loved. I also found that I actually liked Pinocchio as a character much more in the book, he did end up as a kid who understood that actions have consequences and I loved that he was eventually rewarded for doing good.
Profile Image for Bridgette.
108 reviews2 followers
October 7, 2021
The only reason I finished is because the kids wanted me to read it to them. Thankful it's over.
Profile Image for Lupi Andiyani.
16 reviews2 followers
August 4, 2017
I really like the moral story of this book. This will be forever the best book i would give my children to read to. To teach them about life, about etiquette, what the can do, what they can't do. Consequences, prices for everything they do, they will know it.
Profile Image for Annie Jackson.
121 reviews
November 18, 2024
This book is so weird. Just listened to it again with my 3 youngest children (all boys aged 7, 9 and 12) and they LOVED it. Pinocchio suffers hilariously outlandish consequences for his laziness, impudence and disobedience. He is finally fully repentant at the end, which is where he becomes a "real boy."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Janice Sackfield.
72 reviews
October 26, 2024
What a gory horror story. I am not surprised my mum had to bring me out of the cinema cos I screamed my head off. Funny how the cricket and nose growing only happen three times in the book but are padded out more in the film.
Profile Image for Lucinda Real.
Author 8 books
March 22, 2021
One of the stories that I remembered from my childhood and wanted to share with my daughter. She did enjoy it and it is nice to see that it still resonates with children today.
Profile Image for Analía Dayhanna.
79 reviews1 follower
Read
August 3, 2023
Pinocchio is a really good book that talks about a lot of important things in a funny and interesting way.
5.0🌟/5.0🌟
Profile Image for Joy Gerbode.
2,024 reviews17 followers
July 20, 2024
The very familiar story of Pinocchio, as told by Disney. Fun to read again ... I had forgotten some of the details.
Profile Image for ᴀᴍʙ🔅.
98 reviews6 followers
October 2, 2025
"I would recommend this book because you can learn why not to lie and to be obedient. I liked learning about Pinocchio and that he helped his father get out of a shark's mouth." - a 6YO reader
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Roxanne.
Author 1 book59 followers
April 13, 2016
We read the "Classic Starts" edition of Pinocchio, which was "retold from the Carlo Collodi original" by Tania Zamorsky. This was a perfect intro to this story for my little one, who listened to each chapter with big round eyes and always wanted to find out what happened next. It made for good conversation, too ("Do you think Fox and Cat are really Pinocchio's friends?"). It introduced to her tough concepts, like the fact that some people pretend to be your friends when they just want something you have, and that really bad things can happen if you're not a good listener - but it still felt gentle enough for her, partly because P is a puppet and not a real child.

I urged my husband F to go see if the library had more in this series, and they do - but they're marked as being ideal for a child aged 7-9 or something. I'm not sure if that's because of reading level or because of themes, but it's put us off checking out another one. The "reading aloud" level seemed a little high for my girl (at three and a half) but not so high that she wasn't interested or didn't understand; she definitely missed some things, but she was very engaged and asked questions, so it wasn't all over her head. I do worry a lot about introducing her to themes she's not ready for, or content that will scare her. Maybe we'll try another of this series in a few months.
Profile Image for Lara.
205 reviews
April 30, 2014
This story is about a carpenter called Geppetto who created a live wooden puppet called Pinocchio. Geppetto started to take care of Pinocchio like his own little son, but Pinocchio is a troublemaker. He likes playing tricks, skipping school, and doesn't believe that in order to get what you want you have to work hard.
As the story progresses Pinocchio learns that he wants nothing more than to be a real boy with a beating heart than to be a wooden puppet. But in order to be a real boy he has to be good. He has to stop skipping school, being lazy, and become an honest and generous being. Though in the beginning he has struggled, but he got through all the obstacles and kept all his promises and became a real boy.

My thoughts about the book:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The way the book was illustrated is very enjoyable and straightforward especially since the book is a children’s fantasy. I liked the fact that Pinocchio learns from his mistakes and tries to become a better person. And I think in this book there are a lot of lessons to be learned, such as: being generous, being honest, good things come to those who work hard, being friends with the right people, etc… and I think all these lessons are very important for children.


Book rating: 4/5
Profile Image for Kraipob.
133 reviews3 followers
November 24, 2016
It's been a long time since I've read a book about Pinocchio. And since this was on the shelf in my bedroom, I decided to give it a try. Before reading the book, all I remember was a wooden boy, getting into trouble, learning from his mistakes, and then becoming a boy. After reading it, I learned that Pinocchio faced more than a couple of milestones before he becomes the boy he ever wanted. I'm sure that a lot of people can reflect on this story. Starting off as a brat and becoming a better person later on. I have to say that the Fairy sure does have a lot of patience. She had to save Pinocchio from his troubles countless of times. I facepalmed so many times because of Pinocchio's stupidity.
Profile Image for Jae.
435 reviews14 followers
October 7, 2014
Well I texted myself the ISBN of the copy of Pinocchio I read while I was having my car inspected yesterday, but then my phone crashed irreparably AGAIN so I don't know which edition I read but it wasn't this one and definitely wasn't Disney but whatever. It's weird to read the stories you know of bc Disney made them so ubiquitous but never actually engaged with enough to be familiar with. Pinocchio, like most of the classic fairy tales pre Disney sanitization, is really weird. And the version I read was heavily moralized. Like wow, be a good boy and go to school or your feet will burn off and your dad will get eaten by a whale. WHAT? No.
32 reviews
February 25, 2013
It was one of so wonderful stories I have ever read. It is right that there is some temptation by many greedy characters in this story but he finally be a good boy against such temptation :) He changed his mind better and better in this story so I was impressed. I wanna be like the real boy, Pinocchio who works hard and help his surroundings.
695 reviews73 followers
December 28, 2016
My five year old enjoyed this book immensely. I also enjoyed the chapters about how lazy boys are destined to become donkeys. Also I was happy with the vocabulary level. This book wasn't overly simplified.
158 reviews43 followers
September 30, 2013
I read it for school about 1-2 years ago, so you can guess what school reading materials are.
986 reviews
June 13, 2015
I liked it. I never knew anything about Pinocchio until I read this book.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews

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