Pinocchio. Carlo Collodi

First published in 1883, this classic of children's literature is known worldwide as a story of a wooden puppet boy and his creator, Geppetto. Though this tale has undergone countless adaptations, the original story is surprisingly dark and dream-like, beginning with a talking piece of pine that refuses to become the leg of a table. When given to the small Italian village's poor woodcarver, the pine becomes a mischievous puppet boy named Pinocchio. All the wooden puppet dreams of is becoming a real boy, though he is very frequently distracted, first by marionettes, then by a fox and a cat, later by a snake, weasels, and the circus. Though he is aided by the Talking Cricket and the Turquoise Fairy, Pinocchio's adventures and trials take him down a long road that ultimately leads him to his first wish: becoming a real boy. As loveable as Huck Finn, Pinocchio is naughty, lucky, tragic, comedic, illiterate, and imaginative in this subversive work that is just as much satire as it is pure enchantment. This edition includes over forty illustrations by Alice Carsey.