This is no lie: Pinocchio is one of the most popular characters in children’s literature. It’s true, the little wooden puppet with a penchant for lying has become an Italian icon and now the subject of a local exhibition. 

The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles recently opened “A Real Boy: The Many Lives of Pinocchio,” which uses hundreds of items such as vintage toys, puppets, sketches and a very rare book to explore the cultural origins, adaptations and enduring appeal of Pinocchio.