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misspippireads's review against another edition
2.0
Review available at Adolescent Audio Adventures : http://adolescentaudioadventures.blogspot.com/2017/04/review-wooden-prince.html
Reviewed from a library copy.
Reviewed from a library copy.
hayleybeale's review against another edition
5.0
The fairytale of Pinocchio, the puppet who becomes a boy, is thrilling twisted in Jean Claude Bemis’s charming middle grade fantasy. See my full review here.
pizzamyheart's review against another edition
3.0
Pinnochio. The story of a wooden puppet who becomes a real boy.
5 stars for world building
1.5-2 stars for character development
4 stars for creative retelling.
This is a highly original and creative retelling of Pinnochio. There is magic, talking animals, mechanical automatons, and a war between the humans and the Abatonians (magical creatures/land/race). The world was beautiful. The mechanical caterpillar, the flying soldiers, mechanical lion. Even the fact that pinnochio is an automaton was wonderful. It was truely an original retelling.
But as thrilling as the world was, the characters were dull. They were like a half baked loaf of bread. Good on the surface, but undercooked and douhy underneath. Most of the names and characters blended together. I wasn't emotionally invested in any of them.
I'm leaving it with a solid 3 stars. As much as I loved the world and retelling aspects, I kept putting the book down with little desire to pick it back up. I think this would make a great animated series. One that could invest time on building out the characters. I think the visuals would also help identify which characters were which.
5 stars for world building
1.5-2 stars for character development
4 stars for creative retelling.
This is a highly original and creative retelling of Pinnochio. There is magic, talking animals, mechanical automatons, and a war between the humans and the Abatonians (magical creatures/land/race). The world was beautiful. The mechanical caterpillar, the flying soldiers, mechanical lion. Even the fact that pinnochio is an automaton was wonderful. It was truely an original retelling.
But as thrilling as the world was, the characters were dull. They were like a half baked loaf of bread. Good on the surface, but undercooked and douhy underneath. Most of the names and characters blended together. I wasn't emotionally invested in any of them.
I'm leaving it with a solid 3 stars. As much as I loved the world and retelling aspects, I kept putting the book down with little desire to pick it back up. I think this would make a great animated series. One that could invest time on building out the characters. I think the visuals would also help identify which characters were which.
brandypainter's review against another edition
3.0
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
Pinocchio has never been a favorite of mine. Not the original novel. Not the Disney movie. In The Wooden Prince, John Claude Bemis retells this old story in a way that works for me as it never had before.
Pinocchio is an automa who serves in the doge's palace until he is stuffed in a box and sent to the alchemist Geppetto. As soon as he is placed in the box, Pinocchio begins to change. He feels. Automa are not supposed to feel. He is soon united with his new master who has been declared a traitor to Venice and is in hiding. Together Pinocchio and Geppetto must try to escape the soldiers chasing them and figure out why Pinocchio is changing from a wooden automa into a real boy. Before they can get far, they are separated and have to endure many trials to reunite, solve the mystery, and save a magical kingdom.
The Wooden Prince is a steampunk fantasy that takes place in Venice and references many real world places. The structure of the plot follows the original story in many ways. There are scenes that will be familiar to those who know Pinocchio. Bemis included all the iconic moments. What he did that I liked was change the the thematic presentation up a bit. It is about community, friendship, family, and sacrifice. There is also an exploration of what it means to be real and alive. Beyond that, Bemis just made the plot more fun. There is a lot of action and it is fast paced.
The fast pace of the plot makes it hard to connect on a deep level with any of the characters. The are also quite a few characters to get to know. However, Pinocchio is one I was invested in. I had a discussion with some people on Twitter a few months ago about how difficult it is to make inanimate-objects-come-to-life have real stakes. Bemis manages that here and manages it beautifully. This ties into the themes brilliantly too. The books is peopled with a cast of human and magical characters that do add to the story even if they're characterization is not filled out well. Maestro, the tiny sarcastic musical cricket, adds a subtle humor. Pinnoccio befriends chimera in the forms of different animals and the fairy daughter of a magical immortal king. All of these combine to make the story both familiar and brand new.
I can see this appealing to kids who love anything that reminds them of Disney (it is published by Disney-Hyperion) or are just into magical tales with animal/human friendships.
Pinocchio has never been a favorite of mine. Not the original novel. Not the Disney movie. In The Wooden Prince, John Claude Bemis retells this old story in a way that works for me as it never had before.
Pinocchio is an automa who serves in the doge's palace until he is stuffed in a box and sent to the alchemist Geppetto. As soon as he is placed in the box, Pinocchio begins to change. He feels. Automa are not supposed to feel. He is soon united with his new master who has been declared a traitor to Venice and is in hiding. Together Pinocchio and Geppetto must try to escape the soldiers chasing them and figure out why Pinocchio is changing from a wooden automa into a real boy. Before they can get far, they are separated and have to endure many trials to reunite, solve the mystery, and save a magical kingdom.
The Wooden Prince is a steampunk fantasy that takes place in Venice and references many real world places. The structure of the plot follows the original story in many ways. There are scenes that will be familiar to those who know Pinocchio. Bemis included all the iconic moments. What he did that I liked was change the the thematic presentation up a bit. It is about community, friendship, family, and sacrifice. There is also an exploration of what it means to be real and alive. Beyond that, Bemis just made the plot more fun. There is a lot of action and it is fast paced.
The fast pace of the plot makes it hard to connect on a deep level with any of the characters. The are also quite a few characters to get to know. However, Pinocchio is one I was invested in. I had a discussion with some people on Twitter a few months ago about how difficult it is to make inanimate-objects-come-to-life have real stakes. Bemis manages that here and manages it beautifully. This ties into the themes brilliantly too. The books is peopled with a cast of human and magical characters that do add to the story even if they're characterization is not filled out well. Maestro, the tiny sarcastic musical cricket, adds a subtle humor. Pinnoccio befriends chimera in the forms of different animals and the fairy daughter of a magical immortal king. All of these combine to make the story both familiar and brand new.
I can see this appealing to kids who love anything that reminds them of Disney (it is published by Disney-Hyperion) or are just into magical tales with animal/human friendships.
ive_colon's review against another edition
4.0
A very different and imaginative retelling of Pinocchio. I really enjoyed it. Not a typical read as I set out looking for Pinocchio retellings but glad I stumbled upon this one!
librovert's review against another edition
3.0
3 Stars for the Story - 0 Stars for the Audiobook.
I paid $3.95 for this audiobook during an Audible sale. It was not worth it. The narration itself was good, not in the kind of way that I would run out to buy every book ever narrated by Ralph Lister, but in the way that I wasn't bored listening to him.
However, this audiobook has sound effects. Awful, awful sound effects. At the very beginning of the book, Pinocchio is in a wooden crate and is hearing a discussion taking place outside the crate - the dialogue is muffled and I thought it was clever. But it was downhill from there. We meet Maestro (Bemis' shout out to Jiminy Cricket) who has a chittering cricket like echo imposed over the narrator every time he talks. We have Princess Lazuli, the blue fairy, who has a tinkling noise reverberating over her voice. When Pinocchio stands up there's the sound of gears whirring (he's an automaton instead of a marionette in this rendition). In some of the more action-packed scenes of fights and chaos I felt like I was listening through the sound effects to hear the narration. It was really distracting and took away from the story.
The story itself was a clever retelling of Pinocchio. Similar enough that many of the same ideas still stand, but different enough that Bemis made it his own. The Wooden Prince is a fun, insightful read for the intended age group - but it lacked some depth for me as an adult reader. We got to learn a lot about Pinnochio, but many of the other characters seemed lifeless. Definitely, recommend it for the middle grades, but probably won't pick up the next in the series (and definitely won't pick up the next audiobook).
I paid $3.95 for this audiobook during an Audible sale. It was not worth it. The narration itself was good, not in the kind of way that I would run out to buy every book ever narrated by Ralph Lister, but in the way that I wasn't bored listening to him.
However, this audiobook has sound effects. Awful, awful sound effects. At the very beginning of the book, Pinocchio is in a wooden crate and is hearing a discussion taking place outside the crate - the dialogue is muffled and I thought it was clever. But it was downhill from there. We meet Maestro (Bemis' shout out to Jiminy Cricket) who has a chittering cricket like echo imposed over the narrator every time he talks. We have Princess Lazuli, the blue fairy, who has a tinkling noise reverberating over her voice. When Pinocchio stands up there's the sound of gears whirring (he's an automaton instead of a marionette in this rendition). In some of the more action-packed scenes of fights and chaos I felt like I was listening through the sound effects to hear the narration. It was really distracting and took away from the story.
The story itself was a clever retelling of Pinocchio. Similar enough that many of the same ideas still stand, but different enough that Bemis made it his own. The Wooden Prince is a fun, insightful read for the intended age group - but it lacked some depth for me as an adult reader. We got to learn a lot about Pinnochio, but many of the other characters seemed lifeless. Definitely, recommend it for the middle grades, but probably won't pick up the next in the series (and definitely won't pick up the next audiobook).
thedizzyreader's review against another edition
4.0
More like 3.5 out of 5 stars. Glad to have another good retelling for my middle grade fairy tale fans!
the_fabric_of_words's review against another edition
5.0
My son doesn't usually delve into retold fairy tales, but the promise of an Italian gangster and sci-fi setting drew him in. A good read.
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
jlynnelseauthor's review against another edition
5.0
Immersive fantasy with steampunk elements. A heartfelt journey of discovering the joys and kindness of humanity.
Disney's "Pinocchio" wasn't a movie I much cared for. I felt it an odd and frightening look at how bad things happen to good-intending people.
While this book takes elements from the original story but enhances them. From magical lands to a princess trying to rescue her father to an outcast alchemist to the faithful wooden puppet, this story shines a fresh new light on an old tale. I thoroughly enjoyed Pinocchio's point of view and innocence. The ensemble around him was also fantastic.
Very enjoyable retelling. I'd definitely read book 2 of this series!
Disney's "Pinocchio" wasn't a movie I much cared for. I felt it an odd and frightening look at how bad things happen to good-intending people.
While this book takes elements from the original story but enhances them. From magical lands to a princess trying to rescue her father to an outcast alchemist to the faithful wooden puppet, this story shines a fresh new light on an old tale. I thoroughly enjoyed Pinocchio's point of view and innocence. The ensemble around him was also fantastic.
Very enjoyable retelling. I'd definitely read book 2 of this series!