All Collodi's original Pinocchio wanted was to be a real boy, and Bemis' steampunk retelling pays homage by making him a robotlike automaton. Geppetto is a felon in hiding, cast out of the castle and the city of Venice for mysterious acts that Pinocchio doesn't fully understand. Along with talking cricket Maestro, they set off on an adventure to rescue the immortal Prester John, in hopes of learning more about Pinocchio and his strange new life. Along the way, they meet up with Abatonian Princess Lazuli, who is on a quest for the same immortal. Lazuli is a brave, impetuous girl, and she may be more trouble than she is worth, as Geppetto soon finds. Pinocchio's growth is sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes heartwarming, and bound to entrance readers. Fairy-tale retellings are saturating the market, and while this original attempt tackles a tale that rarely gets its due, it might languish on a smaller collection's shelves.

Pinocchio was a mindless wooden "automa," but ever since a mysterious prisoner fiddled with his gears, he's started transforming into a human boy. He joins Princess Lazuli, a fairy, on a quest across the Venetian Empire, into the air, and beneath the sea. The plot rockets along in this steampunk alternate-history retelling, entrancingly packed with Italian Renaissance details and alchemical magic.

Gr 4-7 Flying lions, fiery salamanders, chimera, sylphs, gnomes, men with wings, and an enormous sea monster all play roles in this fantastical retelling of Pinocchio . Pinocchio, a wooden automaton, has been secretly sent by the immortal ruler of the magical kingdom of Abaton, Prester John, now imprisoned in the Venetian Empire, to serve the alchemist Geppetto Gazza. For failing to deliver the Ancientmost Pearl, source of immortality, Geppetto is on the run from the doge of Venice, who has murdered Geppetto's wife and son. Fleeing with Pinocchio and the musical cricket, Maestro, Geppetto realizes he must return to Venice to rescue Prester John, even as he and Pinocchio are recognizing that the automaton is turning into a real boy. But before they can get too far, Pinocchio is abducted and forced to perform in the Grand Marionette Theater, where his "seven league boots" literally raise him to stardom as the Magpie. With the help of the chimera Wiq, the sylph Princess Lazuli, and Mezmer, a warrior fox, he escapes and begins a perilous journey to rescue Geppetto and Prester John and to find a home in Abaton. Bemis has created an alternative world rich in fantastical detail with a touch of steampunk, filled it with multiple characters both human and otherwise, and devised a complex, nonstop action-filled plot that may challenge and strain credulity in all but the most devoted high fantasy readers. A glossary extends the story, and a sequel is planned. VERDICT A good choice for collections where high fantasy is popular. Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Pinocchio is an automa bound to serve the emperor of Venice, which he does without thought or emotion. When he suddenly finds himself locked in a trunk, his fear signals the beginning of his transformation into a thinking, feeling creature. Delivered into the custody of the alchemist and fugitive Geppetto, Pinocchio begins to bond with this new father figure but is kidnapped before he can learn who sent him to Geppetto and why. Upon escaping, with the help of Princess Lazuli, Pinocchio vows not only to save Geppetto but also to free the enslaved magical creatures called Abatonians.A clever retelling, this novel incorporates all of the familiar elements, including a singing cricket named Maestro, the fairy (Princess Lazuli), the whale, and the growing nose, in this case a built-in failsafe meant to signify when an automa has disobeyed an order. Pinocchio's relationships and developing conscience are touching, if perhaps a little overearnest, and a few of the many chase-and-escape scenes feel arbitrary, making it tempting to skim over them. The last several chapters, however, absolutely deliver the goods in terms of creativity and suspense. This book, the first in a series, should appeal to both girls and boys with encouragement.Amy Sisson.