Tommaso Catani facts for kids
Tommaso Catani was an Italian writer and priest who lived from 1858 to 1925. He was born and passed away in Florence, Italy. He is best known for writing books for children, including a sequel to the famous story of Pinocchio.
Early Life and Education
Tommaso Catani was born in Florence on December 7, 1858. He went to a special school called La Grande Magnolia. This school was run by a group of priests called the Piarists. When he was 17 years old, Tommaso decided to join the Piarist order himself. He became a "Novice," which is like a student learning to be a priest.
He also studied at the University of Florence. In 1880, he graduated with a degree in Natural Sciences. In the same year, he became a priest.
Teaching and Writing Career
After becoming a priest, Tommaso Catani started teaching in public schools. But he spent most of his career at the Piarist College of Le Acacie. Later, in 1904, he became the "Rector" of another college, Il Canneto. A rector is like the head or director of a school.
Tommaso had already written two novels when he was a teenager. A big moment for him was meeting and becoming friends with Carlo Collodi. Carlo Collodi was the famous author of The Adventures of Pinocchio. This friendship inspired Tommaso to write his own sequel to Pinocchio's story. He called his book Pinocchio in the Moon.
Books and Journals
Even though Tommaso Catani is mostly remembered for his children's books, he wrote about many different topics. He wrote books about animals (zoology) and plants (botany). He also wrote about religious subjects. One of his notable religious books was a biography about Saint John of the Cross.
Many of his book covers were designed by Carlo Chiostri. Carlo Chiostri was also the artist who created illustrations for the original Pinocchio book. Later, Tommaso Catani started his own journal. It was published twice a month and was called Il granello di pepe, which means "The Peppercorn." He would publish parts of his novels in this journal.
From 1914 to 1924, Tommaso Catani focused a lot on writing books about animals. Another famous writer, Natalia Ginzburg, admired his imagination. She noted that the challenges some of his animal characters faced were similar to problems people might have. He also wrote a series of books with a character named "Ugo." These books helped elementary school children learn about science in a fun way.
