I remember reading this book sometime in late elementary or middle school (or maybe it was read to me before that...?? fuzzy on this count) and being AMAZED at how different it is from the Disney movie. Some dark stuff happens to Pinocchio, and the Blue Fairy is a completely different character who appears in several different iterations or lifetimes or something. Pinocchio's adventures are much longer. I remember him eating an apple or pear and throwing away the peel and core, and someone (Gepetto?) scolding him and saying "someday you'll be hungry enough to eat the whole thing and be grateful for every bit." That stuck with me. I should re-read this one. 
 The version I remember also had illustrations by Roberto Innocenti, who I still admire.