Peter Pan

I have always been curious to read the adventures of Peter Pan without the 'bloated' media versions (Disney, Dreamworks, Kids Story Books, Shrek) that have floated around forever... much like Peter Pan... floating around forever (accidental analogy) Not until my curiosity was peaked by reading about the book 'Child Thief' by Brom did I finally do it. The interest was spurned by Brom's recollections of the Pan story that caused him to actually be inspired to write his own version. I very likely would have given this book a 4 1/2 stars, but some of the language and terminology was lost on me (some was 'translated' but I am sure I am missing some chunks of understanding due to my lack of vocabulary) You may want to keep in mind that I am reading this .. in order to understand the adaptation that Brom created - in that light I knew what Brom got out of tiny parts of the Peter Pan story... that likely affected my minds-eye in reading it, but honestly ... hopefully ... not too much. Initially as you enter the story, the undertone of 'horridness' begins, because there is SO much talked about how 'that night' and the regrets that the parents have over what they did, or did not do - that caused the children to be able to travel to Neverland. Peter is much of a failure of a hero - but I think that not because he fails (many 'heroes' do this) - but because he does not seem to learn - honestly that is the truth of who he is. A boy that just wants to have fun - if he were to learn and become a respectable hero ... he would have to learn and mature, instead he gets by on his luck, and just more blind luck - calling it cleverness does not necessarily make it yours - though when done properly, you certainly can look the wise hero. When you can completely forget that you were leading a group of children to your home, then you cannot be that great of a 'role model'. I would hate to think there were other children he found to recruit as lost boys ... to only forget them and lose them while flying over the ocean. The fact that Peter actually 'made up' or 'said whatever was in head' coming up with the directions that 'EVERYONE' knows in order to get yourself to Neverland. It seems to me that leave five minutes before morning would make for a shorter trip based on those directions. Now - I do not mean to try to rip this classic apart, just bring to light some things that may have been 'glossed' over for so long that we have no idea what the story really contained. I very much enjoyed the story - and gave the stars to prove it, I just never realized how dark the story behind what I saw all my life really was! I had my suspicions - watching the tinkerbell movies - tink is kind and lovable, basically one of the better fairies - yet in the original story (and this was in the movies) she had a foul mouth - and tried to cause a murder. Micheal (the youngest Darling - btw SPOILER ALERT after this ........) killed a pirate near the end of the 'adventure' ... how is that for a young child's upbringing! Peter forgets about Tink a year after the adventure (the narration mentions that she probably died) .... what a wonderful companion? (also the part in Shrek where you see Peter trying to sell Tink... I think is entirely possible as he could have forgotten who she was... ) As well to not completely 'trash' Peter - he has his kinds streaks (with the Never Bird's eggs - and a few other times) ...SPOILER END... All in all - the story is great as it is. Not the happy go lucky clean and cut adventure that we may have all seen and 'loved', but a story with a grand lesson. Peter does not wish to grow up... so in Neverland he forgets everything - memory is what causes us to grow. When we learn something - when we begin to understand something ... we need to make changes, because we REMEMBER! When we make the decision to NOT REMEMBER - to NOT GROW - we become like Peter. Lost. And Alone. So afraid to move forward in life that he must 'steal' children and create adventures. Well onto the adaptation by Brom... which is promised to be even darker - more honestly - I can see it only lifting the veal a tiny bit more.

As one reads Peter Pan, one doesn't have to do much thinking to figure out why its story has achieved such worldwide acclaim. I had ridiculously high expectations of Mr. Barrie's imagination before purchasing this title, and he has fulfilled them completely. Many parts of the story are nothing but nonsense, which I enjoy above all else. Mr. Darling, the head of the Darling family, commands his children to take their medicine after he hides the medicine he's supposed to take. He brags about how noble he is for drinking a medicine that tastes so much worse that theirs. Unfortunately for him, during his bragging his medicine is found, and the whole family agrees to take their respective medicines on the count of three. Sure enough, when three is reached, everyone except Mr. Darling takes their medicine, and Mr. Darling once again tries to hide his. This kind of scenario is what I'd call Mark Twain nonsense. You can imagine it being true, even though it's quite high up on the ridiculous scale. Then there's what I would classify as over-the-top nonsense - AKA bull - which there is plenty of in Barrie's original story of Peter Pan. Going back to Mr. Darling, if we take a look at how he's doing near the end of the book, we find him going to and from work in a dog kennel. Ah, yes...grown men in pet taxis. What could be more fun than the "he-didn't-even-try-to-make-this-belivable" silliness of such a scene? To be honest, I don't know if I'd even read books if they all left out fun stuff like this. Other silly parts of the book involve Wendy growing up a day quicker than most girls; the narrator claiming he hates Mrs. Darling only to call her his favorite character a few sentences later; the lost boys asking Wendy to change the characters her story just two sentences into it; the narrator using the phrase "woke into life" because Peter likes the word "woke" more than "wakened;" and my favorite, Captain Hook using a stale cake as a missle and then falling over it in the dark. I believe the novel version of Peter Pan was written after the author had already established Peter Pan as a successful play. That may explain a lot about the colorful narration, which takes many, many literary liberties. We see everything from blatant narrator interference with the characters in the story to the shameless attempt at informing the audience that the narrator only chooses to make the events in the story happen a certain way so certain characters in the book won't be disappointed. Perhaps without these wacky (and maybe even insane) traits in the narration, there'd be no reason to read the book, since it would be no different from the play. After reading the Peter Pan novel though, I'd have to say it almost seems criminal to watch an adaptation of Peter Pan without any wacky narration. Contrary to most adaptations of Peter Pan, the individual lost boys (of where there are six I believe) are actually more developed as characters than John or Michael Darling. Heck, at the end of the book they actually end up moving out of the Neverland to live with the Darlings and grow up to busy themselves in interesting professions. I may not like the actual land of Neverland as much as I like the land of Oz, but Barrie's narration is unbeatable in my opinion. He could probably make a Jeopardy contestant's Friday night schedule sound exciting. I believe Barrie has written another Peter Pan book as well, a prequel of sorts entitled "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens." It should be interesting, particuarly if it addresses what is contained in the dark dreams that haunt Peter throughout this book. Freud would have a field day with such dreams and the whole mother issue. The only thing I expected to see in this book that I didn't see was "happy thoughts." That must have been a creation of Disney.

First off, I rate this a 4 star only because I did not buy it for myself, but as a gift. So my hands on with the book are limited other than checking it out before I wrapped it. But what I saw of the book was fantastic and would give it a 5 star no problem. I was specifically looking for a nice Peter Pan book for a gift for my 14 year old niece and there are tons out there, but most are not that nice. This is a bigger book, not a small one to read and throw in a bag. This one is not too large, but bigger than average, worthy of putting on a shelf for display or even a coffee table type deal. The artwork is beautiful. Seriously nice looking. The text looked like a nice size, easily readable but not giant like a kids book. There were no negatives about it as I saw, such as loose binding or smell (sometimes these new processes for mass printing leave a smell or a goo on the book.) It even came with a ribbon for a book mark. Also, I believe the pages were gold leaf. Don't quote me on that because I am having trouble remembering, but the book was so nice something like this as an added touch is easily understandable. Can you find a better Peter Pan book out there? Probably. But not for $13. This was the perfect edition of the book in my mind. Nice enough that you want to take care of it and keep it forever, but not too nice that you never want to crack the binding and not read it.

My wife and I both grew up watching Disney films. We each have our own likes and dislikes, but one that we both enjoyed and would watch anytime is Peter Pan. When I heard that Sterling Illustrated Classics was printing Peter Pan and Wendy, I knew I had to own this book. The book begins with a foreword by David Barrie, J.M. Barrie' great-great nephew. This was a brief two pages, but was very interesting. The rights to Peter Pan were left to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (in perpetuity) so that the hospital might always thrive due to this work's popularity. The story itself begins with background on the Darling family. We learn about how Mr. Darling got Mrs. Darling to marry him, the birth of the three children, and how finances were tight with that many mouths to feed. It is also where we are introduced to the notion of Peter Pan and Neverland. Chapter Two is the famous shadow scene, where the faithful dog Nana sees Peter Pan flying about and tries to catch him, but only manages to nab his shadow! The rest of the story is very familiar, as we see mermaids, Lost Boys, pirates, Captain Hook, and Tinker Bell too! The book ends with Wendy growing up and having a daughter who goes off to Neverland. She too will have a daughter, and that daughter will have a daughter, and the cycle will continue indefinitely. This is a quality printed, hardcover book with a dust jacket. What makes it stand out from other editions of this book is the beautiful illustrations. I have never felt anyone has done a sufficient job of capturing the true child-like nature of Peter's character, but these illustrations of him are some of the best I have seen. If you are any kind of fan of Peter Pan, you need this book in your collection. I know I will treasure this copy for years to come!

My only exposure to Peter Pan was the Disney version and a stage play (based largely on the Disney version), so in listening to this unabridged original, I was a bit surprised to find it darker and more adult than the Disney adaptation. Tinkerbell, in particular, is darker and more adult in her "naughtiness" -- both in her jealousy of Wendy and in her feelings for Peter. The author several times mentions her "off-color language" and indeed she does several times call Peter a 3-letter word beginning with "a". Also, there are mentions of her desire for privacy, and once Peter refers to her "negligee", all of which give Tinkerbell a quite different persona that the cutesey/naughty fairy in the Disney film. All of which is to say that, although this is a clean and fanciful fairy tale, I don't know that it is all that appropriate for young children. The language is probably too sophisticated for most children to grasp, and the story has a more adult feel to it. The main characters seem to be somewhat warped; Peter, quite obviously, as a boy who hates adults and refuses to grow up, but Captain Hook also, as a vain pirate who is somewhat stuck in his boyhood and still under the influence of the prep school he attended. Even Wendy's role-playing as mother to the Lost Boys and Peter felt a little more strange and slightly less innocent than in the Disney adaptation (perhaps animation just automatically lends a lightness to the tale - ?). And then there is Mr. Darling who, feeling guilty over the abduction of his children, quite literally lives in a dog kennel for the entire duration of their absence in Neverland -- very strange. That being said, this is an enjoyable story with many facets -- I will no doubt listen to it again, since I think there are things I didn't catch the first time around. Jim Dale's narration is absolutely outstanding; he is a master at voices and lends color and depth to every character. A bonus is that at the end of the book there is a short biographical sketch of J.M. Barrie that gives background on his life and the writing of Peter Pan.

Don't get me wrong. This is a great collection for Peter Pan enthusiasts. There are three parts to this collection: Peter Pan (the story we've all come to recognize, thanks to Disney), Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and The Little White Bird. However, it was stated in the description that the entire collection was merely 111 pages long. Even in the Table of Contents, it gives the impression that all three stories accumulate to 111pages. Not true. While Peter Pan and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens are short stories, The Little White Bird is actually the novel J. M. Barrie wrote that later inspired the other two stories. So, the entire collection is closer to 350 pages than what was noted in the description. I found it cumbersome to read because it was much longer than I expected. Also, it didn't help that I didn't much enjoy the novel (which takes up the bulk of the material). The short stories were fun and different, but the novel just drones on and on.

So many persons have experienced "Peter Pan" as a Broadway musical or as a Disney film that it is easy to overlook how brilliant, fun, and timeless this story is. 100 years from now it will hold up...as it has held up in the last 100 years. What are some of these terrific ideas? - a faerie that can either be all good or all bad, but not both at once - a boy wrapped in leaves who is dangerously courageous but still naive - a shadow that can be attached with a sewing needle - a marvelous dog that acts like a nanny - a mother who arranges a child's thoughts at night - a pirate captain who sings as he plunges his iron claw into his victim - bright stars that wink and whisper. Barrie's tale has both delightfully light and disturbingly dark aspects...perhaps that is part of its universal appeal. And for all the fun of "Peter", he is emotionally scarred from his conviction that he was abandoned by his mother. The scenes of Wendy holding him in her lap when he has nightmares is very touching. Children love "Peter Pan" because of the adventure! The final show down between the Lost Boys/Peter Pan and the Pirates is not to be missed. What I liked about Jim Dale's narration is that he makes you feel he is reading aloud a "bed time" story...maybe something you heard from your father long, long ago. On top of that, he is very good in voicing different accents for the various characters so it is easy to distinguish the many personalities. Even for those who "think" they know Peter Pan, this can be a surprising gift.

I just finished reading this book to my kindergartner and 3rd grader. They both loved it, especially my 3rd grade son. They were confused at first by the differences between the Disney version and this one, and by the illustrations that are so different from Disney. But what a great way for them to learn that the characters don't need to look like Disney OR the book, it's all about their own imaginations! I admit that the beginning was slow and at times the narrative rambled, but I hope my children will grow to recognize the differences between stories written 100 years ago and modern stories...and learn to celebrate the differences in pace and vocabulary. (Some of this could be easily paraphrased if you want to read ahead a little before bedtime and prepare ahead of time!) As for Tink's repeated use of the phrase, "you silly @ss", my kids thought it was funny...it's not like they haven't heard the word before, and they aren't going to walk around saying it now just because they heard it in a book. Again, this is something you can easily change on the fly while reading out loud. The only thing I did skip entirely was the one sentence about the faeries having an orgy! It was unnecessary in the context of the book and I certainly didn't need my kids asking me what that word meant... My kids marveled at how different the book was from the movie (i.e., how evil and self-centered Peter was) and they loved the ending which was not presented in the movie. The adventures were great and kept them wanting more. Many nights we stayed up past bedtime to read "just one more" page. This book should be part of every child's collection, we adored it!