13 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 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
Readers who enjoy warm school stories, classroom friendships and heartfelt scenes will love this book. It also suits parents and teachers drawn to stories for reading aloud.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A classroom becomes a family
- Kindness means standing beside the weak
- Gratitude must appear in behavior
- Honesty repairs pride and fear
- Work reveals strength others overlook
- Quiet kindness protects another's dignity
- Love of country calls for service
- Care deserves gratitude while people remain
- Different voices teach through feeling
Who’s who
- EnricoA third-grade boy in Turin who writes the diary, admires his classmates and struggles with envy and laziness.
- Signor PerboniThe tall, serious teacher who has no family of his own and asks his class to be his sons.
- GarroneThe biggest and gentlest boy in class, who shares everything and protects anyone weaker.
- DerossiThe handsome top student who helps everyone and wins every prize without pride.
- StardiA short, stubborn boy who has no talent but wins his place through iron will.
- PrecossiA timid blacksmith's son who studies hard and hides the beatings his father gives him.
- CorettiA cheerful wood seller's son who works for his family all day and still keeps up his lessons.
- FrantiA bold, mocking boy who laughs at weakness and defies the teacher.
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Cuore (Heart): An Italian Schoolboy's Journal
by Edmondo De Amicis · 1886
In Turin, Enrico keeps a school diary where a lonely teacher asks his class to be his family.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Our school will be a family, and you will be my comfort and my pride.”
In short
Imagine a teacher who stands before fifty-four boys on the second day of school and tells them he has no family, so they must be his. That is where Cuore, which means Heart, begins to open up.
Cuore (Heart): An Italian Schoolboy's Journal at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 5 min4 h 50 min fast, 7 h 15 min slow
- Length
- 86,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1886by Edmondo De Amicis
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A stern teacher offers his class a family
The year begins on Monday, the seventeenth of October, at the Baretti school in Turin. Enrico does not want to go, and his new teacher, Signor Perboni, is tall and gray-haired and never smiles.
The next morning shows another side of him. He tells the class that his mother has died and he has no family, and he asks the boys to be his sons so that the school can be a family. One boy who has just been clowning walks up at the end of the lesson and asks forgiveness. The teacher kisses his forehead and sends him off.
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Details
- First published
- 1886
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
De Amicis, Edmondo. Cuore (Heart): An Italian Schoolboy's Journal. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/cuore-heart-an-italian-schoolboys-journal.
De Amicis, E. (2026). Cuore (heart): An Italian schoolboy's journal. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/cuore-heart-an-italian-schoolboys-journal (Original work published 1886)
De Amicis, Edmondo. Cuore (Heart): An Italian Schoolboy's Journal. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/cuore-heart-an-italian-schoolboys-journal.
@book{deamicis2026cuore,
author = {De Amicis, Edmondo},
title = {Cuore (Heart): An Italian Schoolboy's Journal},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/cuore-heart-an-italian-schoolboys-journal},
note = {First published 1886}
}
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What is Cuore about?
Cuore follows one school year in Turin through the diary of a boy named Enrico. It mixes classroom scenes, letters from his parents and monthly stories about brave boys, all aimed at teaching kindness, honesty, duty and love of country.
Who is Garrone in Cuore?
Garrone is the biggest boy in Enrico's class and his favorite friend. He lends what he has, defends weaker boys such as Nelli and Crossi, and even takes the blame for another boy. The teacher says he has a noble heart.
Is Cuore a true story and when was it written?
Cuore is a work of fiction written by Edmondo De Amicis and published in Italy in 1886. It is presented as a schoolboy's diary, but the boy, his classmates and the scenes are invented to teach lessons.
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.
“Our school will be a family, and you will be my comfort and my pride.”
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