The Adventures of Pinocchio-Treasury of Illustrated Classics Storybook Collection

The Adventures of Pinocchio is a classic story about what happens to a foolish puppet who does not listen to the wise advice of others and who disobeys his unselfish father Geppetto. From the moment he comes to life Pinocchio causes trouble. He chooses not to listen to the Talking Cricket, a black-bird, a Parrot, and a Fairy with blue hair. Pinocchio encounters a (supposedly) lame Fox and a (supposedly) blind Cat who dupe him into putting money in the (alleged) Field of Riches. After skipping school Pinocchio narrowly escapes a vicious police dog and a hungry green fisherman. Pinocchio becomes a donkey (Collodi makes good use of symbolism here!) as a result of his visit to Funville. The donkey becomes lame after tripping in a circus act. A man comes along to purchase the lame donkey so the animal's skin can be used to make a drum. After being thrown into the sea with a stone around his neck the donkey changes back into a puppet. Pinocchio is then swallowed by a shark and discovers that his father has suffered the same fate. Father and son both escape and Pinocchio becomes a real boy.The moral of this story is fairly clear: Our bad decisions and foolish choices have negative consequences. Though this story is targeted to children (boys in particular) the lessons presented in this book can apply to adults as well. The version of this story in this review is an adaption and is designed for younger readers. However, adults will enjoy this wonderful story about a classic literary character and the error of his ways. The book concludes with a brief biographical sketch of Carlo Collodi.