The Adventures of Pinocchio

The Adventures of Pinocchio, C. Collodi
Translated by M. A. Murray
(Grosset & Dunlap, 1965)
Ages 5 and up

My wife just finished reading this book with our boys. I had often heard that the book was significantly different from- and superior to- the Disney adaptation. Now the experience of my wife and boys and the portions I was able to hear confirm this. You cannot assume you know the real story simply because you have the Disney truncation.

This is a humorous, adventurous tale about the typical boyish temptations to disobedience and laziness. I came home often to hear my boys laughing at a portion of the story, or retelling me a part, or to my wife retelling a portion that spoke so well to our own battles with school.

There were good lessons for our boys. For example at one point as Pinocchio continued to run from school in pursuit of amusement someone said to him:
“Bear it in mind, simpleton! Boys who refuse to study, and turn their backs upon books, schools, and masters, to pass their time in play and amusements, sooner or later come to a bad end … I know it by experience … and I can tell you. A day will come when you will weep as I am weeping now … but then it will be too late!”
The burden of the book is to show the trouble that comes from avoiding responsibility, particularly school work. This is very applicable to our world!

One point we have often made to our boys is that when they are slow or resistant to doing their work, it negatively affects our whole family. Obedience in contrast blesses the entire family (things go well, there is peace, etc.). This story makes the same point when Pinocchio changes:
“Because when boys who have behaved badly turn over a new leaf and become good, they have the power of bringing contentment and happiness to their families.”

When Pinocchio changes to a boy, we even see a picture of repentance- which is an implicit call to repentance from the audience:
“How ridiculous I was when I was a puppet! And how glad I am that I have become a well-behaved little boy!”

Pinocchio’s change from a puppet to a boy does not parallel conversion but maturation. It is not an overt story about the need for a new heart (the root issue), but is a good story about the need to mature and take on responsibility (a key issue as well, particularly for boys).

We would commend this book to you as a fun and edifying read.

Best Reads with My Kids in 2014

As 2014 comes to a close I thought I’d list the best books I've read with my kids this year (my list of best reads in 2014 for myself can be found here). Here are the top 10 full-length books which I read to them this year. The list is in no particular order, mostly just the order in which we read them this year. This is my second time through this age range so some of these books have been discussed here previously when I read them with my older children.

1.      Rascal, Sterling North- Somehow I missed reading this one with my older kids. It is a wonderful story in so many ways. I wrote a post on the book after we read it.
2.      Pinocchio: The Tale of a Puppet- This is a great story with silliness, adventure and some great lessons. It is significantly different from the Disney movie. My 6 & 7 year olds loved it. (Here is a post from the first time we read it)
3.      Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, Robert C. O’Brien- My children really got into this one as well. Fun, action-packed and with some good lessons on hard work and the value of learning. Here is my post from when we read it.
4.      The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C S Lewis
5.      The Horse & His Boy, C S Lewis
6.      Prince Caspian, C S Lewis
7.      The Magician’s Nephew, C S Lewis- It was fun to read these again with my younger ones. I’m always helped, challenged, bettered by reading Lewis and my daughter, who was 7 and then 8 years old as we read them, loved them. My son, 6 and then 7 years old, listened but was slower to really get into them. Prince Caspian we listened to on Focus on the Family’s wonderful Radio Theater. These are some of my favorite stories for myself and for my children. (Here is my previous post on the series)
8.      Hand of Vengeance, Douglas Bond- This was another fun, historical fiction piece from Douglas Bond, one of our family favorites, and I recently discussed it here.
9.      Crow and Weasel, Barry Lopez- This is a profound story of growing up, but my 6 & 8 year olds weren’t quite ready to appreciate it. Here is my post written after reading it with my older boys.
10.  Martin the Warrior, Brian Jacques- This was a favorite of my older boys when we read it so I was excited to read it to my younger ones- I was surprised to find I had not written a post on the book previously (here is a general post on the series). The story has nobility, high adventure, heroism, sacrifice, and a clear clash between good and evil. My daughter (8 at the time) really liked it but it was a bit over the head of my 6 year old son though he got into it in places.