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Summary
Summary
(Trans. by E Harden)
Author Notes
Date- 2013-08-06
Fulvio Testa is one of Italy's most distinguished artists and illustrators and has had many exhibitions in the United States and Europe. In addition to his own prize-winning titles, he has illustrated books by authors such as Anthony Burgess and Gianni Rodari.
Carlo Collodi was the pen name if Carlo Lorenzini who was born in Florence in 1826. The son of a cook and a servant, he began his writing career as a journalist before turning to children's stories. He died in 1890, unaware of the international success that his creation Pinocchio would eventually enjoy.
Geoffrey Brock is the prizewinning translator of works by Cesare Pavese, Umberto Eco, Roberto Calasso, and others. He teaches creative writing and translation at the University of Arkansas.
Carlo Collodi is the pen-name of Carlo Lorenzini who lived from 1826 to 1890. Collodi is the name of the little village in Tuscany, Italy, where his mother was born. Carlo was born in Florence, the son of a cook and a servant, and spent most of his childhood in the rough and tumble of the streets rather than in the classroom. This could have helped when twice he was called upon to be a soldier. He began his writing career in newspapers and started his own satirical paper Il Lampione (The Lantern). By the 1950s he was publishing fiction and non-fiction titles and soon decided to concentrate
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Fanelli (First Flight) provides abstract illustrations for a deluxe edition of Collodi's cautionary tale. Distilled into pithy chapters by translator Rose, the book comes packaged in a paper-over-board edition with an attractive postmodern slipcase that plays up the hero's famous proboscis. Pinocchio, carved from a talking hunk of wood by his "father," Geppetto, starts life as a careless and gullible marionette. His first impulse is to run away from home, whereupon he falls in with scoundrels, sermonizers and a generous Blue Fairy. This version preserves all the slapstick violence and didacticism of the 19th-century original, in which Pinocchio makes mistakes and develops his moral sense, but the text also plays up a more modern mindset. This picaresque narrative makes a strange partner to Fanelli's up-to-date paper collages and loose pen-and-brush sketches. The artist does not emphasize the contrast between the puppet and his fleshly human and animal acquaintances. Everyone looks equally cartoonish (most often viewed in profile), which on the one hand alludes to Collodi's social satire (hypocritical humans have much in common with ignorant puppets) but on the other hand distances readers from the characters. With its variegated layout and wordless full-bleed spreads, the volume most resembles an artist's handmade book; Fanelli draws on lined or graph paper, and her inset, blue-black ink images seem doodled directly on the pages and margins. This modish treatment, a far cry from conventional versions of the classic, may be best suited to collectors; it makes a likely companion to Lane Smith's Pinocchio the Boy, or Incognito in Collodi. Ages 7-up. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Dramatic, densely colored, and fantastic illustrations bring a sense of menace and uncertainty to the familiar tale of disobedience, in which Pinocchio's maturity is tested with a nearly endless series of temptations and troubles. The adapted story's furious action is exciting but also confusing and, at times, outpaces the illustrations. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud. The "true" story of the puppet who wanted to be a real boy will surprise those familiar with the popular Disney version. This abridged Pinocchio includes plot details missing from the animated film, more violence, and the blue fairy as a central character. The didacticism of the original is retained, but Mattotti's colorful paintings have enough style and dramatic impact to carry the reader to the final foregone conclusion. A good additional title for large comparative literature collections, this should provide a bridge for those who want the "real" story but are unable to tackle the original novel-length tale. (Reviewed Oct. 1, 1993)068812450XJanice Del Negro
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-An idiomatic retelling of Collodi's didactic classic. While Mattotti's adaption hits all the high points of the original, readers are moved along too quickly through Pinocchio's sinister encounters with Stromboli (here called Fire-eater) and his puppet theater or the fox and the cat. Children don't have the opportunity to dwell on the satisfaction of seeing the recalcitrant puppet gradually change his ways. Also, the story is heavy: the fox and cat, after pretending to be lame and blind, end up in that condition; a cat has its paw bitten off; Pinocchio nearly dies rather than take his medicine; and four black rabbits bear his coffin into his bedroom. It's pretty fierce stuff for the bedtime-story set. The sinuous lines of the illustrations are overlaid with black crayonlike texture that reinforces the story's darkness. While some children may respond to the uniquely stylish artwork, they deserve the whole story, which is better served by Robert Innocenti's illustrations for E. Harden's translation of The Adventures of Pinocchio (Knopf, 1988).-Susan Hepler, Alexandria City Public Schools, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
What most readers know of Pinocchio is a wooden puppet whose nose grows from telling lies. This episode--longer than a picture book but shorter than the original tale--is one small chapter in the exploits and adventures of Pinocchio, the boy wannabe. An illustrated adaptation, it follows the original M.A. Murray translation closely, yet succeeds without the long-windedness of the 1892 classic, and with all the rich language, spirited characters, and lively escapades intact. Inspired by the commedia dell'arte, the Italian traveling street theater of Collodi's time, Young (Night Visitors, 1995, etc.) has created scenes that authentically capture the playlike quality of the story. Reminiscent of his colorful cut-paper collage in Seven Blind Mice (1993), the array of characters and images cleverly reflect a stage production, complete with double-page spreads that act as scenery backdrops. It's an energetic rendition that invites the audience to meet again the mischievous puppet with all his foibles, setting the stage for an Oz-like ending that reaffirms the power of good. (Fiction. 6+)
Excerpts
Excerpts
When the gentle woodcarver Geppetto (Christian Rub) builds a marionette to be his substitute son, a benevolent fairy brings the toy to life. The puppet, named Pinocchio, is not yet a human boy. He must earn the right to be real by proving that he is brave, truthful, and unselfish. But, even with the help of Jiminy, a cricket who the fairy assigns to be Pinocchio's conscience, the marionette goes astray. He joins a puppet show instead of going to school, he lies instead of telling the truth, and he travels to Pleasure Island instead of going straight home. Yet, when Pinocchio discovers that a whale has swallowed Geppetto, the puppet single-mindedly journeys into the ocean and selflessly risks his life to save his father, thereby displaying that he deserves to be a real boy. Come along and listen to the adventures of Pinocchio in this classic American story. Excerpted from Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
