Pinocchio by Kate McMullan (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Pinocchio by Kate McMullan Kate Quealy-Gainer McMullan, Kate, ad. Pinocchio; ad. by Kate McMullan; illus. by Pascal Lemaitre. Ottaviano/Holt, 2014 [144p] (Cartoon Classics) ISBN 978-0-8050-9699-6 $12.99 Reviewed from galleys M Gr. 2–4 A lonely old woodcarver creates a boy puppet from a piece of talking wood; the puppet eases some of the old man’s heartache, but more often than not, the wooden boy’s bad judgment leads to mischief and he realizes he has much to learn before he can become a “real boy.” Readers familiar with the more saccharine Disney version of Pinocchio may be in for a bit of a surprise with McMullan’s retelling, which sticks closely to Carlo Collodi’s 1880 original; it’s often a dark tale, with Pinocchio throwing a hammer and killing Cricket in the first few pages and getting hanged from a tree. McMullan also makes a point to hold to the original’s serial element, giving each episode its own chapter, which results in a choppy and disjointed read; additionally, the flatness of the language makes it difficult to contextualize the tone, which skitters from sentimentality to black humor, or to engage emotionally. Which is historically valid, but the Cartoon Classics approach is clearly setting this retelling out as a viable title for modern young readers in its own right, and that’s a tough, possibly insurmountable challenge with a tale so bounded by the conventions of its time and at odds with those of ours. Lemaitre’s playful, energetic black and white cartoons, appearing in panel sequences and full-page images as well as spot art, slyly emphasize the exaggeration to come down more on the comedic side of the story’s tone. While a compelling effort to bring a classic to a new format, this ultimately reveals a morality tale that doesn’t really translate to the modern world. Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois