The Adventures of Pinocchio

‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Pescia. The first half was originally a serial in 1881 and 1882, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of an animated marionette named Pinocchio and his father, a poor woodcarver named Geppetto.
A carpenter finds a talking piece of wood and gives it to his poor neighbor, Geppetto, who carves the block into a marionette and names him Pinocchio. Pinocchio runs away as soon as he learns to walk. The marionette is caught by a Carabiniere, who assumes Pinocchio has been mistreated and imprisons Geppetto. Pinocchio goes back to Geppetto's house where he accidentally kills a talking cricket who had warned Pinocchio of the perils of disobedience and hedonism. That evening, Pinocchio falls asleep with his feet on the stove and wakes to find that they have burned off. Geppetto is released from prison and makes Pinocchio a new pair of feet. In gratitude, Pinocchio promises to attend school, and Geppetto sells his only coat to buy him a school book.

Carlo Collodi is the pen name of Italian author Carlo Lorenzini, creator of the beloved children’s character, Pinocchio. A Tuscan who fought in Italy’s wars of unification, Collodi was already a famous novelist and popular translator of French fairy tales when he began to contribute chapters in the life of a marionette to Italy’s first newspaper for children, Il Giornale per i Bambini. The adventures of the disobedient puppet were an immediate success and Pinocchio’s story has been translated and adapted numerous times, including the classic 1940 animated production from Walt Disney. Collodi died in 1890.