Luigi Barzini 1 hr 19 min read

A little man made of matchsticks, Fiammiferino, comes wondrously to life, and confides the sad story of his transformation, and his adventures with storks, battles, and a curious costume.

Luigi Barzini's 1917 book, translated from the Italian, is a charming fantasy for children. Whimsical, tender, imaginative. Read it for a delightful storybook of a living match-man's small adventures and misadventures, an Italian cousin to Pinocchio, full of gentle wonder and warmth.

In its time

Published in 1917, during the 1910s, lost worlds and interplanetary adventure.

Reading it

1 hr 19 min read (a novella, a full arc in one sitting or two).

Illustrated by

Hattie Longstreet