(1973) Pinocchio and His Puppet Show Adventure (Disney's Wonderful World of Reading), Disney Book Club. (ISBN: 0394926269 / 0-394-92626-9)

Book Description: Random House Children's Publishing, New York, NY, U.S.A., 1973. Stated Copyright 1973, number line on copyright page reads (7 8 9 0 O P), later printing Thus. Illustrated Cloth Hard Cover Boards and Spine. Pages not numbered, 6.25" x 8.75" tall, .25" thick. Color Illustrations.

Book Condition: Fine, like brand new. Tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. (see scans).

Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket.

Synopsis: A simplified version of the classic tale of a talking wooden puppet whose nose grew longer whenever he told a lie.

About Pinocchio: Pinocchio (BrE: /pɪˈnəʊkiəʊ/; AmE: /pɪˈnoʊkioʊ/^[1]; Italian: [piˈnɔkːjo]) is a fictional character that first appeared in 1883, in The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, and has since appeared in many adaptations of that story and others. Carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a small Italian village, he was created as a wooden puppet, but dreamt of becoming a real boy. Pinocchio is often a term used to describe an individual who is prone to telling lies, fabricating stories and exaggerating or creating tall tales for various reasons.

Pinocchio is known for having a short nose that becomes longer when he is under stress (chapter 3), especially while telling a lie. His clothes are made of flowered paper, his shoes are made of wood and his hat is made of bread (page 16 of Collodi's Le Avventure di Pinocchio). Despite the fact that in Italian the name Pinocchio might be a version of 'baby pine' (a portmanteau of pino, pine, and marmocchio, brat), in fact it means pinecone which is distinctly, probably willfully illogical as the book clearly states that the puppet was made out of cherry wood. The name actually comes from a nickname: Geppetto wryly gave the puppet the name Pinocchio as an omen of good fortune: Ho conosciuto una famiglia intera di Pinocchi [...] e tutti se la passavano bene. Il più ricco di loro chiedeva l’elemosina (chapter 1) (I have known the entire Pinocchio family [...] and all of them managed well. The richest begged). However the surname itself may be derived from the Italian word nocchio, meaning a gnarl or knot in wood.

Disney version: Pinocchio was the second feature-length animated film made by the Disney company. Shel Silverstein sums up the plot of the Disney version in a poem entitled "Pinocchio" from his book, Falling Up.

Pinocchio is seen as a living puppet, who must prove himself to become a real boy. He is seen in a slightly pudgy face, blue eyes, 3 fingers (later 4 as his flesh-and-blood form at the end), a yellow hat, a blue bow tie, white opera gloves, red overalls, black vest, and white socks (in his flesh-and blood form at the end).

His first appearance in the film is as a lifeless puppet. When it was time for bed, Geppetto caught sight of a wishing star and wished Pinocchio to become a real boy. Once Geppetto fell asleep, his home was visited by the Blue Fairy, who brought Pinocchio to life and Jiminy Cricket became his official conscience to tell him right from wrong, for, if Pinocchio proved himself brave, truthful and unselfish, he would be transformed into a real boy. Geppetto discovered his puppet is alive and celebrated along with Figaro the kitten and Cleo the goldfish.

The next morning, Pinocchio is ready for school, but is stopped by two villainous actors: J. Worthington Foulfellow (a.k.a. "Honest John") and his silent sidekick, Gideon, who trick him into working for Stromboli, a puppeteer. They tell him being rich and famous is the only way to live. Pinocchio listens, believes, and ends up following the wrong path. Jiminy tries to stop him, but is unsuccessful, so he chases after him.

Stromboli is paid beyond his wildest dreams for Pinocchio's magnificent performance. After the show, Pinocchio and Stromboli are dining and the man's true nature is revealed as parsimonious, evil and rotten. He cages Pinocchio and threatens him to perform. Pinocchio manages to escape with the help of Jiminy and the Blue Fairy.

During their trip home, Pinocchio and Jiminy race home, but Pinocchio is stopped once again by Honest John and Gideon. They tell Pinocchio he's sick and the only cure is a vacation on Pleasure Island. They take him to the Coachman, along with many other boys, including a brat named Lampwick, who Pinocchio calls his best friend.

Once the place is torn apart, everyone has vanished, except Lampwick and Pinocchio, who are smoking and drinking while playing pool. Once Jiminy confronts the two, he is so upset, he storms out. Soon, Jiminy discovers the plan; Pleasure Island has the power to transform bad boys into donkeys, which the Coachman sells into slavery, and rushes back to get Pinocchio. Lampwick's transformation is complete, but Pinocchio and Jiminy escape the island. Unfortunately, Pinocchio has grown donkey ears and a tail.

The two reach home, but realize there's no one home. They sit and wait on the steps for everyone to return. Suddenly, the Blue Fairy comes in the shape of a dove and gives them a letter which tells them Geppetto was eaten by Monstro the Whale.

The pair start searching the ocean for Monstro with very little luck. When they ask sea creatures such as clams and seahorses, they swim and hide in fear at the mention of Monstro's name. Meanwhile, after a nap, Monstro awakens and begins an eating frenzy. Everything in his path was either devoured or destroyed (including Pinocchio). Once Monstro was found, Pinocchio was able to reunite with Geppetto, Figaro and Cleo. Pinocchio soon thinks of a plan to escape Monstro by making him sneeze.

Once Pinocchio is able to get Monstro to sneeze, the enraged animal chases after him and his father. The whale destroys the raft, sending Pinocchio and Geppetto into the unforgiving sea. After witnessing his father almost drowning, Pinocchio grabs him and swims to shore as quick as he can, but it's too late. Even before he gets there, Monstro slams into a rocky wall, creating a forty foot tidal wave. Gepetto, Figaro, Cleo, and Jiminy survive. When Jiminy looks for Pinocchio, he makes a very depressing discovery. Pinocchio is lying face down in a large puddle, in which he has drowned.

Geppeto, Figaro, Cleo, and Jiminy return home and grieve over Pinocchio. Then the Blue Fairy revives Pinocchio and transforms him into a real boy because he has now proved himself brave, truthful and unselfish. Jiminy is then awarded with a certified 18-karat conscience badge.

Pinocchio appears in House of Mouse in several episodes, voiced by Michael Welch and in the direct-to-video films Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse and Mickey's House of Villains. He also made a cameo in Phineas and Ferb in two episodes and can be seen in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He also appears in cameo in the film Aladdin and is also seen in another film Teacher's Pet, and made a cameo in Tangled.

Source: Read more at Wikipedia.