Forzieri's Fairy Tale Jewelry

If you want fairy tale jewelry that tells a story, looks like Forzieri is the place to go (assuming it fits into your budget.)

Marionnette de Bois Whale Long Necklace

$80.00

"Whale Long Necklace is part of the Marionette de Bois Collection by N2 which is a reinterpretation of the famous tale which combines fun and imagination to create the magic of Pinocchio. Hand crafted in polished gold plated brass with delicate chain, depicting the scene in the belly of the whale with Gepetto and Pinocchio. Signature tag and lobster clasp. French design."

Little Red Riding Hood, Wolf and Mushrooms Long Necklace

$119.00

"Little Red Riding Hood, Wolf and Mushrooms Long Necklace by N2 is part of the Chaperon et Champignons Collection featuring Little red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf in a magical forest full of mushrooms. Hand crafted in polished gold plated brass with delicate chain, large mushroom pendant, the Big Bad and Little Red and colorful little mushrooms in enamel with crystal accents, mushroom shaped signature charm and lobster clasp. French design."

Snow White and the Queen Metal Earrings

$96.00

"N2 collection hand-painted 'Snow White cut face with red poison apple' metal & enamel brass earrings. Hook backing closure. Signature box included. French design."

Seven Dwarves Necklace

$98.00

Les Contes - Snow White and the Evil Queen Necklace

$68.00

"Hung on a small link brass necklace with lobster closure, Snow White opens the door to find the evil Queen in disguise. French design."

Gemstone Frog Prince Ring

$225.00

"Add a stylish on-trend touch to your wardrobe with Alcozer & J's majestic frog prince brass ring featuring inlaid gemstones and sophisticated pearls. One size only, approximately 7.5 US. Gift box and Signature protective pouch included. Made in Italy"

There are more variations than I've shown here-more Riding Hood, mushroom, and Pinocchio pendants, if you want to go to the site and browse more.

Also, this isn't from Forzieri, but thought I'd throw it in:

Etsy seller Thependantemporium

Took me a second to get it, but anyone who regularly goes to the library to check out folklore books will find 398.2 to be a familiar number! (Assuming your library uses Dewey Decimal system)

GEICO Fairy tale commercials

I just saw the latest of Geico's "Did you know" series of commercials, this one featuring Pinocchio. I had mentioned the Jack and the Beanstalk one earlier, which wasn't on youtube at the time, so here it is in case you missed it:

Fibber

My friend just told me about Fibber, a game she played while babysitting. It's for young kids, but inspired by Pinocchio.

From amazon:
"How to Play
Fibber is all about what you say and not what you play! Play cards in their order and say what you're playing. Don't have the right card? Time to put on your best poker face and try to fool everyone by playing a different card. But watch out! If you don't get away with it, you’ll have to place a nosepiece on your glasses that will continue to grow each time you’re caught! If wrongfully accused, the player who said you were fibbing has to put on a nosepiece of his or her own. It’s fun for the whole table as you watch your noses grow! Person with the SHORTEST nose wins!"

Reminds me of B.S., the card game I used to play, only with the addition of noses that grow for each lie rather than just being out. But apparently this is a hit with kids!

Pinocchio

First of all, Pinocchio isn't technically a fairy tale, but how exactly do we define a fairy tale? A fantastic story so old we can't trace its origins? Wikipedia skirts around a definition by giving examples of what a fairy tale is not (a myth, fable, or cautionary tale), and including a whole discussion on the difficulties of defining fairy tales, but doesn't actually say what it is. The American Heritage Dictionary calls a fairy tale "A fanciful tale of legendary deeds and creatures, usu. intended for children." Which is not actually correct: a)this definition would encompass all children's fantasy, and fairy tales are a more specific branch of fantasy, and b)nowdays we think of fairy tales as being intended for children, but historically fairy tales were not intended for children, and even now there are plenty of modern adult interpretations.

So all that to say, you can't really say definitively that Pinocchio has no place on a fairy tale blog; I focus more on traditional tales, but any story that was later made into a classic Disney movie also holds interest for me. And Pinocchio does have something most fairy tales lack, which is the presence of an actual fairy.

Pinocchio is a story written by Italian Carlo Collodi which came out in 1883. It contains the story of a puppet who wants to be a real boy, but has to learn to be responsible, and in the process makes a lot of stupid decisions and is severely punished for it. Some scenes are really quite awful and violent, but that was the mode for children's literature in the Victorian age-to scare children into obedience by telling stories of children who suffered horrifying punishments for their crimes.

Enrico Mazzanti

The book is sort of frustrating to read, because at first you're just annoyed with Pinnochio for being so obstinately stupid. He does have good intentions (don't we all?), but even when he tries to be good, he gets tricked or tempted beyond what he can bear. Although, as the book goes on, he holds out more and more before giving in. The book has good messages-stay in school, work hard, obey your parents, etc., but it's so preachy it gets tiring. The plot itself would be more enjoyable if it weren't for them hitting you over the head with lamentations like this one from Pinocchio: "It serves me right!...Decidedly it serves me right! I was determined to be a vagabond and a good-for-nothing...I would listen to bad companions, and that is why I always meet with misfortunes. If I had been a good little boy as so many are; if I had been willing to learn and to work; if I had remained at home with my poor papa, I should not now be in the midst of the fields and obliged to be the watch-dog to a peasant's house."

The Disney movie takes all of its scenes from the book, with alterations, and leaves out other scenes. Some differences of note: Pinocchio actually starts off by killing the Talking Cricket. He later comes back as a ghost, but doesn't have nearly the importance that Jiminy Cricket does in the movie. At one point you think Pinocchio also killed the Blue Fairy, but she was just teaching him a lesson. The large man-eating fish is also like Jonah's fish in that people insist on making it a whale-Pinocchio's fish was actually referred to as a Dog-fish. Also, Pleasure Island in the book is "known on the geographical map by the seducing name of the 'Land of Boobies.'" But not that kind of seductive boobies...

Pinocchio starts off by being infuriatingly annoying. He has no schoolbook, so Gepetto goes out, sells his coat in the middle of winter, and buys Pinocchio a spelling book. The next day Pinocchio sells the book to see a play. But, Pinocchio does grow on you more as you read the book. Gepetto doesn't start out as the best character either, though; early on the villagers are concerned that Gepetto will beat the puppet and abuse him, and he gets into a fight with another man for calling him names. So I guess there's plenty of character development for all involved...

Hee hee Pinocchio from Shrek is really funny...