In my opinion, this is a great classic story that would be appropriate to use during independent reading. This is because the book is small and the word lengths on each page are longer than typical read-aloud books. I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because of the characters, plot, illustrations, and underlying message. But I did not like this book because of the language and writing. The character, Pinocchio, is well developed and relatable. Pinocchio was a puppet that frequently misbehaved, did not always listen to advice, occasionally lied to others, and found himself in tricky situations. Children can relate to this character because children often disregard the rules and get in trouble. They must learn the consequences to their actions, just as Pinocchio does throughout the story. I really enjoy the plot in this story. Pinocchio is constantly getting himself into bad situations that are difficult to escape, such as joining an evil circus and traveling to the dangerous Pleasure Island. Fortunately, with the help of Blue Fairy, Pinocchio can escape these places and learns that he should listen to people’s advice and warnings. Pinocchio also learns the importance of family when he has to rescue his creator, Geppetto, from the mouth of a dangerous whale. I really enjoy this suspense in the story; it keeps the reader interested, excited, and eager to read on. The illustrations coordinate with the written text and provide appropriate moods on the pages. For example, the text reads, “He raced towards the tiny raft with a terrifying look in his eyes. Geppetto shouted, Paddle, son! He’s trying to crush us!” On this page is an illustration of Pinocchio and Geppetto paddling vigorously in the ocean to escape the whale. Although the drawings are old fashioned, they still express great detail. What I did not like about this story are the writing and language. I do not think certain sentences flowed nicely. At some parts, pacing was not good and thoughts seemed unorganized. For example, the story reads, “Just then, a magic dove flew by and dropped a note.” This piece of information was randomly placed on the page and had nothing to do with the storyline. I also felt the story was rushed; several events happened in a very short time frame. The font of the text also made the story less engaging; it was typed using the basic Times New Roman font. Using a different font could have made the story more exciting to read. Sensory details could have also been used more. Nonetheless, this is a classic tale of a puppet that turns into a boy due to his selfless actions of saving his creator. The story pushes the reader the think about their own bad decisions and what lessons they can learn from them. The big ideas of the story are listen to the advice of others, lying and bad choices can put you in difficult situations, learn from your mistakes, selfless actions will grant your wishes, and always appreciate the ones you love. ( )