10 h 57 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 57 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does it take to become kind when the boy beside you needs a defender?
In Edmondo De Amicis's Cuore (Heart): An Italian Schoolboy's Journal, Enrico Bottini begins a school year in Turin. From October to July, his diary follows life in class, in the street and at home. He admires clever Derossi, watches generous Garrone and slowly learns that being good means more than doing well at lessons.
The classroom holds warmth, but also cruelty. Franti mocks others, while frail Nelli needs protection. Coretti balances school with work for his father. Alongside Enrico's entries come family letters and the teacher's monthly tales of brave, generous boys. Together, they explore friendship, duty and the kind of citizens a young Italy hopes to raise.
What you’ll discover
- Kindness put to work Watch Garrone protect weaker classmates and give generously from the little he has.
- A boy still learning Follow Enrico as his classmates teach him patience, gratitude and the demands of friendship.
- Courage beyond the classroom Meet working children whose daily efforts bring quiet courage into the schoolroom.
- Letters close to home Read the family letters that press Enrico to look beyond his own concerns.
- Stories of love and duty Discover the teacher's stirring monthly tales, where young boys show bravery and love of country.
Who will love it
For readers who love warm stories about school, family and friendship, and anyone curious about how Italy taught its children to be citizens.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A school year begins in Turin
- Meet the boys who share the bench
- Garrone shows what kindness costs
- Franti and the wrongs of the class
- The teacher's tales of young patriots
- Poor boys, hard work and quiet courage
- Family, teachers and the duty to learn
- What the story is really about
- How the diary is built and told
Who’s who
- Enrico BottiniThe eleven year old writer of the diary, a decent, curious boy who is still learning to be patient, grateful and kind.
- GarroneThe tallest and oldest boy in the class, quiet and generous, who protects weaker classmates and gives away what little he has.
- DerossiThe best student in the class, handsome, clever and generous, whom Enrico admires and wants to have as a friend.
- FrantiA cruel, unrepentant boy who mocks others and the teacher, and who stands as the dark side of the class.
- NelliA small, frail boy with a humped back, shy and sad, who is teased by others and needs a defender.
- CorettiThe cheerful son of a wood seller, who helps his father with work and still arrives at school with a smile.
- PerboniThe patient, tired teacher who treats his pupils as his family and asks them to help each other like brothers.
- PrecossiA thin, frightened blacksmith's son who suffers at home, yet works hard and never complains.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 10 h 57 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Corazón: Diario de un escolar italiano
by Edmondo De Amicis · 1886
In a Turin classroom, Enrico learns from generous friends and cruel classmates what it means to have a good heart.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Cuore, which means Heart in Italian, is a school diary written by Edmondo De Amicis and published in 1886. It follows one year in the life of Enrico Bottini, a boy of about eleven who attends a public school in Turin.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A school year begins in Turin
The book opens on the first day of school in October. Enrico Bottini enters the third class of a public school in Turin, and his mother and his sister Silvia come with him as far as the door. He writes that the summer is over and he is sorry to lose the country air, but he is also curious about who will sit near him.
His teacher is Perboni, a man with a calm voice who never seems to lose his patience. He is new to Enrico, who had a different teacher the year before. On that first morning, Perboni tells them in a friendly way that he has no family of his own, and that the pupils are his family. He asks them to help each other like brothers.
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What is Cuore about?
Cuore is the diary of Enrico Bottini, a schoolboy in Turin, over one school year. It mixes scenes of class life, letters from his family and short tales read by his teacher, all stressing kindness, duty and love of country.
Who is Franti in Cuore?
Franti is a classmate of Enrico who is cruel, mocks the teacher and laughs at the misfortune of others. He stands as the opposite of kind boys like Garrone, and later readers have studied him closely.
When was Cuore written and is it a true story?
Cuore was published in 1886 by Edmondo De Amicis. It is a work of fiction, but it draws on real life in Turin schools and on real events from the wars that led to Italian unity.
The author
Edmondo De Amicis
1846–1908 · Italian novelist
Edmondo De Amicis was an Italian writer and journalist, born in Oneglia in 1846. He served as an army officer before turning to writing and lived in Turin. He wrote travel books and published Cuore in 1886. He died in Bordighera, Italy, in 1908.
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