  | Wooden bones Author: Carter, Scott William | |
| Price: $6.50 | ||
Summary:
Pino & his father, Gepetto, are forced to go on the run after villagers learn a puppet made by Pino representing Gepetto's dead wife can move as Pino did before becoming a real boy.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.20 Points: 6.0 Quiz: 152760 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 3-5 Reading Level: 5.50 Points: 11.0 Quiz: 57450 | |
Common Core Standards
Grade 3 → Reading → RL Literature → 3.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 3 → Reading → RL Literature → 3.RL Craft & Structure
Grade 3 → Reading → RL Literature → 3.RL Integration & Knowledge of Ideas
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Craft & Structure
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → 4.RL Integration & Knowledge of Ideas
Grade 4 → Reading → RL Literature → Texts Illustrating the Complexity, Quality, & Rang
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → 5.RL Key Ideas & Details
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → 5.RL Craft & Structure
Grade 5 → Reading → RL Literature → 5.RL Integration & Knowledge of Ideas
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (07/15/12)
School Library Journal (08/01/12)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (A) (09/12)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 08/01/2012 Gr 4–7—This novel is based on the story of Pinocchio and his wood-carver father. Like Geppetto, Pino has the gift of making wood come to life, and this skill causes many people to want favors from him. The two go on a magical quest of danger and intrigue, meeting interesting characters and visiting unusual settings. They hear a voice in a cave, and the People of the Tall Trees tell them to visit Queen Elendrew. She has healing skills, and they strike a deal with her, but they soon learn that she doesn't respond with gratitude and they're off again, running from danger. The concept of taking this classic story and showing what could happen after it ends is sure to grab readers' attention. This fun read is a fast-paced adventure filled with thoughtful life lessons that will encourage readers to accept themselves as they are and to appreciate how they are different. It is certain to prompt contemplation and discussion.—Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego - Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Bulletin for the Center... - 09/02/2012 In this sequel to Collodi’s Pinocchio, young Pino (Pinocchio) and his father, the woodcarver Geppetto, try vainly to keep a low profile after Pino’s amazing transformation from a wooden puppet into a flesh-and-blood boy. Desperate people soon start showing up at their door, however, begging Geppetto to create and then “bring to life” wooden versions of their departed family members, as they believe Geppetto did with Pino. When Pino himself tries to recreate Geppetto’s dead wife, Antoinette, the result is deeply disturbing: though Pino actually can animate his wooden figures, they are only alive in the sense that the wooden creations are able to move independently, and the mute but mobile “Antoinette” thoroughly alarms the village. From that moment on, Geppetto and Pino are on the run from people who are both frightened of and hungry for Pino’s “life”-giving powers, and Pino and his father must face wolves, a strange race of tree-dwelling people, and folks who turn on the pair when Pino refuses to use his abilities to serve them. Carter’s plotting is taut and quick-paced, and his characters and the situations they face (the tree-dwellers are particularly intriguing) are fresh and original. He especially excels at building and maintaining a slightly ominous atmosphere: “The puppet’s mouth moved up and down, creaking as it swiveled on its hinges, but no other sound came out. Outside thunder boomed repeatedly across the valley, sounding to Pino much like a mallet pounding on a hollow log.” However, the ending, in which Pino and Geppetto escape onto a ship, feels somewhat rushed and unsatisfying, and a key concluding development—Pino (who was, intriguingly, slowly returning to his wooden form as he exercised his magical power) suddenly and completely becomes human again after a last-ditch animation of an army of wooden creatures—is random and inexplicable. Still, this is a compelling and unusual read, and even the kids who don’t normally touch reworkings of classic stories may find Pino’s creepy-edged story fascinating. JH - Copyright 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
