Introduction to Tonino

Tonino is a young, curious cricket boy, living with his family in Boston. Life is good for young Tonino, but he suspects there's more to the world than his own backyard. He wants to learn about foreign cultures, but mostly he wants to learn about his own family roots. He heads to Italy, where he is surprised to meet the famous Blue Fairy, who was friends with Tonino's ancestor—the cricket guide to Pinocchio. Whereas Tonino's ancestor was put in charge of young Pinocchio's conscience, Tonino is given a much more universal conscience. He is charged with the conscience of the world and the well-being of its environment, a big change to his personal journey. No longer is he looking after the story of his family; now he looks after the story of Mother Earth!

Suddenly, he is transported on a worldwide adventure. He heads to Puerto Rico and meets the Taino people. He visits a monarch in Mexico and cricket warriors in China. In the American Southwest, he learns about the spirit of the cricket katsina; in Hawaii, he encounters Pele's rage. It's a lot to take in for the young cricket boy, but ultimately he discovers that seeking his roots is only the beginning in the wide world of biodiversity, cultural diversity, and conservation of both.

His Name and Heritage

The boy/cricket is baptized Anthony at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. His parents live in the North End where his mother kept hearing the television advertisement Anthony, Anthony, It's Prince Spaghetti Day, so they named him Anthony. Naming him Anthony was straightforward, but naming him Tonino was at the brilliant suggestion of Dr. William Cooley, retired Northampton Ophthalmologist and avid italophile. Dr. Cooley sent Dr. Stoffolano a short novel by an Italian author named Rodari about a young boy, Tonino, who tries to become invisible so that he could avoid problems with his teacher. Rodari (1920–1980) was one of Italy's best-known writers of children's books and the recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for children's literature. Thus, the name and his ability to become invisible are incorporated into the story.

In addition to this reference to his nickname, Tonino is a small cricket because he always ate Italian food in the North End and not cricket food. Thus, he also got the name Tonino, which means little Anthony in Italian from Joe Pace who owns and started Joe Pace & Sons Italian Specialties in Boston's North End. In his novel, Stoffolano establishes the first lineage for this famous cricket family. Tonino's great, great, great grandfather was Grillo parlante, the talking cricket in the original story Pinocchio. Grillo was also the conscience of Pinocchio, and Grillo's great grandson was the famous Jiminy Cricket in Walt Disney's classic movie Pinocchio.

Lessons and Themes

In this wonderful story about Tonino, the reader sees many different regions of the world through the eyes of this boy/cricket. Through the experiences of Tonino, the reader will learn more about how crickets played various and important roles in different indigenous cultures. Tonino's charge by the Blue Fairy was to become the conscience of the world when it comes to environmental issues: a heavy responsibility for a small boy/cricket. The importance of cultural diversity, just as important as biodiversity, is stressed, and Tonino takes on Dr. E. O. Wilson, one of the greatest thinkers and writers of our generation, as his mentor.