Walt Disney's Pinocchio and the Whale

by Gina Ingoglia, Phil Ortiz (Illustrator), Diana Wakeman (Illustrator)

A wooden puppet full of tricks and mischief, with a talent for getting into and out of trouble, wants more than anything else to become a real boy.

A Golden Very Easy Reader, Level One, Grades K-1.

Genres: Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pinocchio, a little wooden boy, who had previously run away from home, returns to find only his friend and conscience Jiminy Cricket in the house and that his creator, Geppetto is not there. Jiminy tells him that he should not have run away and then shows him a letter from the Blue Fairy that tells them that Geppetto has left to look for Pinocchio but that has been swallowed by a giant whale called Monstro.

Pinocchio vows to rescue Geppetto and the pair of them set off to find the sea. They do so and begin their search but each time Pinocchio asks friendly fish about the whereabouts of Monstro, they all turn white with fear and scurry away.

Suddenly the water grows dark and murky and it is Monstro appearing. And when he opens his mouth to scoop up a passing shoal of tuna, Pinocchio and Jiminy also nip into his mouth. Inside they discover Geppetto, his delightful cat Figaro and Cleo his pet goldfish.

They are all delighted to be back together again and they devise a method of getting out of the whale. They build a raft and their plan works so that they find themselves out on the sea. But Monstro is not happy and snaps the raft in two and tries to get them back inside his stomach. But with great effort from Pinocchio they reach dry land but Pinocchio is exhausted and cannot be roused. Geppetto carries him home and is very sad until an unexpected visitor brings joy to the household; not only is Pinocchio brought back to consciousness but he is turned into a real little boy; Geppetto is thrilled!

Delightfully illustrated by the Walt Disney Studios, this is a delightful story with a feel-good ending!

Bibliographical note: Some editions of this title specify an author and an illustrator. This one does not and is therefore attributed to Walt Disney Productions Ltd, as stated within its covers. And although the cover displays 'Walt Disney's Pinocchio and the Whale, the title page simply has the title and that is how it is catalogued.

[Harry Palacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This children’s books is a parable of Christian thought. Where Jiminy plays the Holy Ghost, the fairy either is the Virgin Mary of an angel- and Geppetto, the fisherman is Jesus- it’s fascinating how we seldom see the hidden esoteric in children’s stories. This is a well thought out and well written book.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

He did a great job reading this book. He only needed help on a few words and read it in about 15 minutes.