# Is the original Pinocchio worth reading as an adult? Canonical: https://zestasy.com/wiki/original-pinocchio/ Section: Zestasy Wiki > Books & ideas · Updated: 2026-10-13 · Publisher: Zestasy *Zestasy Wiki: our reference answers. Checked for facts and sources; less curated than the magazine.* Yes, very much. Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) is a strange, fast, often very funny book with a streak of real darkness: the puppet kills the Talking Cricket with a hammer early on, gets hanged by the Fox and the Cat, and is swallowed by a giant shark rather than a whale. Adults get the comedy, the satire and the oddness that the Disney film smoothed away, and it is short enough to read in a weekend. Most people know Pinocchio from Disney's 1940 film: a sweet wooden boy, a singing cricket, a lesson about lying. The book it came from is another animal. It is rough, unruly, slapstick and occasionally alarming, and it has been translated into something like 260 languages, which puts it among the most translated books in the world. ## How it came to be Carlo Collodi was the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini, a journalist turned writer. Pinocchio first appeared as a serial in the children's magazine Giornale per i bambini from 1881, and was published as a book by Felice Paggi in February 1883, with illustrations by Enrico Mazzanti. The serial history explains a lot. Collodi originally ended the story at what is now chapter 15, with Pinocchio hanged from a tree by the Fox and the Cat. Readers wanted more, so he brought him back: in the chapters that follow, the Blue-haired Fairy rescues him, and the adventures roll on until the puppet finally becomes a real boy. You can feel the joins, and that is part of the charm. ## What is different from the film - **The Cricket.** In the book, Pinocchio squashes the Talking Cricket with a hammer early on. Its ghost comes back later to keep offering advice. Disney turned it into a cheerful sidekick. - **The sea monster.** The creature that swallows Geppetto and Pinocchio is a giant dogfish, a shark, not a whale. - **Geppetto and the Fairy.** The poor woodcarver dominates the first half; in the second, the Fairy takes over as a mother figure, first as a young girl-like fairy and later as an older woman. - **The villains.** The Fox and the Cat are more than comic crooks, and the puppet master Mangiafuoco is more complicated than a straight villain. - **The Land of Toys.** Children who play all day and never study turn into donkeys, Pinocchio and his friend Candlewick included. It is just as unsettling on the page as on screen, and funnier. ## What adults notice **It is funny.** Collodi has a comic writer's timing. Disasters arrive at speed, characters lie badly and get caught, and the narrator plainly enjoys the chaos. **It is a picture of its time.** Poverty and hunger are everywhere, seen from a child's height, and the institutions are absurd in ways only adults fully appreciate: when Pinocchio reports a theft, a gorilla judge sends him to prison for being foolish. **It moralises, but loosely.** Collodi preaches about work, study and obedience, yet the book is so anarchic that the lessons keep getting trampled by the fun. Pinocchio is a terrible pupil and a wonderful character. **It is dark.** Injury, death and danger are treated in the brisk way of old fairy tales. Not cruel, exactly, but not padded either. ## How to read it Read it aloud, if you can, to a child or another adult; it was written to be enjoyed that way, and the rhythm of the short chapters suits it. Choose a complete, modern translation rather than an abridged children's version, which often trims the strangest parts. If you read some Italian, the original is a tempting choice for learners; see [what to read to learn Italian](https://zestasy.com/wiki/books-to-learn-italian/). Afterwards, watch the Disney film again. You will see it differently. ## FAQ ### Is the original Pinocchio suitable for children? Yes, for most children who enjoy traditional fairy tales; it was written for them. Some scenes are dark, so read it together with younger children and talk about the frightening bits. ### Does Pinocchio's nose really grow when he lies? Yes, it is in the book, though it is a smaller part of the story than the film suggests. Most of his trouble comes from laziness and believing the wrong people. ### Which English translation should you choose? Look for a complete, unabridged translation with all 36 chapters of the 1883 book. Mary Alice Murray's was the first English translation, in 1892; many newer versions are livelier. ### Is it really an adult book? It is a children's book that adults enjoy on a different level, like many of the best. The philosopher Benedetto Croce praised it highly, which tells you how much is in it. ## Sources - [Wikipedia: The Adventures of Pinocchio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Pinocchio) ## Related - [Is The Little Prince really a children's book?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/the-little-prince/) - [What are Calvino's Italian Folktales, and are they for adults?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/calvino-italian-folktales/) - [What is Gianni Rodari's The Grammar of Fantasy?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/rodari-grammar-of-fantasy/) - [Should you read the book before watching the film?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/book-before-film/) - [What should you read to help you learn Italian?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/books-to-learn-italian/) - [All Books & ideas answers in the Wiki](https://zestasy.com/wiki/#books)