In this fictional autobiography, it is Pinocchio himself who narrates his many well-known, and a few lesser-known, adventures. I read this together with my 7-year-old son, and in typical Morpurgo fashion the story provides lots of discussion points, without ever raising the moralistic finger. The fact that it is Pinocchio who judges his own behaviour in hindsight I feel makes this a lot easier for children to relate to, seeing as they are probably often torn in two as to what is right, and which course of action to pursue. But as with some other of Morpurgo's books, I thought the ending was unduly rushed after having spent so much time exploring Pinocchio's adventures, and felt like 'Oh, is that it?'

Emma Chichester Clark's illustrations add significantly to the charm of this book, but because of the often fairly complex psychology behind characters' motivations, I wouldn't recommend this for very young children. ( )