As a mother, I am troubled by the way that the media bombards children with images, lasting only a few seconds, thereby discouraging them from ever developing habits of sustained thought or long attention spans. These longer books on tape published by DK are an excellent device for combatting this kind of dumbing down of the American educational system. Our 4 year old is able to read this from start to finish on her own as she goes to bed at night or as I'm making dinner. It lasts almost 45 mintues! I would recommend any of the books in this series as a means to introducing classical stories in children with timeless morals (in the case of Pinocchio, there is a strong message about the importance of obeying parents and going to school) in an abridged form. Parents who are into classical schooling should definitely add this series to their home library! It includes a cassette and a fully illustrated book. Awesome value for the money.