Carter, Scott William. Wooden Bones.

Carter, Scott William.  Wooden Bones.     Simon & Schuster  148p  $16.99  978-1-4424-2751-8           ms/jr       E-BN      Fairy Tale 

They came knocking at his door demanding he share his secret.  They wanted what he gave Pino or they wanted him gone from the town.  How could Geppetto give life to other puppets when he did not know how it had happened in the first place?  

Pino and Geppetto lived quietly on the outskirts of town.  Geppetto had been a very sad man after his wife and baby died during childbirth.  His sadness increased day by day until he created a wooden puppet resembling a little boy.  Then one day that little puppet boy turned into a real boy, amazing everyone in town.

Geppetto had no idea how it happened, but he was glad to have Pino as his son.  Although he was a very good father, Pino noticed that he was always very sad.  One day Pino came up with the idea of creating a wooden puppet from a picture he found of Geppetto’s wife.  Somehow, the puppet came to life, but it was not like a real person!  It followed them around, and Geppetto declared it an abomination.  When people found out about it, they came knocking on his door demanding he create life-size puppets of their own dead loved ones and that he bring them to life.

Their demand was ridiculous, and he could not do it, as he did not how he had done it the first time.  When he refused his neighbors, he knew he and Pino were in grave danger and they were forced to go on the run after the villagers learned that the puppet made by Pino to represent Geppetto’s dead wife could move like Pino.  Then the day of reckoning comes, when Geppetto and Pino must face a new challenge that could end Pino’s life.

This is an old fairy tale retold with a new twist and a great ending. I loved it!                                                   --Magna Diaz