Twice upon a time there was a baron called Lamberto

We are on the island of San Giulio, on Lake Orta. Old Baron Lamberto, very exacting and sick, is looked after by his butler in a luxurious villa where the name of its rich owner constantly and mysteriously echoes around from the attic. “Lamberto, Lamberto, Lamberto...” The eccentric baron is having to deal with a rapacious nephew, who has his greedy eyes on the inheritance, and with a group of bandits determined to kidnap him and ask for a huge ransom. The story is a rollercoaster ride of surprises, paradoxes, and bizarre brainwaves that will give the reader pure enjoyment. It is a novel, but also an ode to the imagination in the very structure of the book, for at the end of each chapter we find "postscripts" in which Gianni Rodari chats a bit with the reader, recounting some episode he has not put in, reciting a poem and, especially, suggesting a game. So let's jump into this game of creativity and maybe have fun together with the whole family, thinking up new stories and poems using words we find when we open a dictionary at random or imagining a different ending for the story. “Any reader who does not like the ending can change it as they wish, adding a chapter or two to the book. Or even thirteen. Never be afraid of words. " C'era due volte il barone Lamberto Gianni Rodari Einaudi ragazzi, 2011