Peter Pan (Scholastic Classics)

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I Believe....
Peter pan
Why Classics are Classics
Darker than you'd think...
Beautiful classic version of this story

Peter Pan (Scholastic Classics)
J. M. Barrie
Manufacturer: Scholastic Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 043929133X

Why it took a hundred year anniversary to bring the real book back is a mystery........2007-07-30

Book Description:
In August 2004 the Special Trustees of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, who hold the copyright in Peter Pan, launched a worldwide search for a writer to create a sequel to J.M. Barrie's timeless masterpiece. Renowned and multi award-winning English author Geraldine McCaughrean won the honor to write this official sequel, Peter Pan in Scarlet. Illustrated by Scott M. Fischer and set in the 1930s, Peter Pan in Scarlet takes readers flying back to Neverland in an adventure filled with tension, danger, and swashbuckling derring-do!

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Tony DiTerlizzi on Illustrating the Cover for Peter Pan in Scarlet
I grew up with J. M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy and later read Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens which was illustrated by the great turn-of-the-century artist, Arthur Rackham. Peter's carefree spirit and nature is what I adored as a child and long for now as an adult. And these are the feelings I tried to convey into my rendition of the boy-who-would-not-grow-up.

In working on an image for the American jacket of this authorized sequel, I went through many designs trying to capture the spirit of the 100-year-old character while making him intriguing to the readers of today. This, of course, is much easier said than done.

Many of us have an idea of what Peter Pan should look like based on stage plays, movies, and the myriad of illustrated books, but in actuality both J. M. Barrie and Geraldine McCaughrean describe very few of his physical features. This opens up a lot of room for visual interpretation for an illustrator, however anything too severe in redesign would lead to confusion of identifying who this iconic and (dare I say) mythic character is. So I tried to breathe some new life into his appearance, but still remain faithful to the Peter Pan we all know and love.

--Tony DiTerlizzi

Book Description

The first-ever authorized sequel to J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan!

In August 2004 the Special Trustees of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, who hold the copyright in Peter Pan, launched a worldwide search for a writer to create a sequel to J. M. Barrie's timeless masterpiece. Renowned and multi award-winning English author Geraldine McCaughrean won the honor to write this official sequel, Peter Pan in Scarlet. Illustrated by Scott M. Fischer and set in the 1930s, Peter Pan in Scarlet takes readers flying back to Neverland in an adventure filled with tension, danger, and swashbuckling derring-do!

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful, tapped right into Barry's spirit , .......2007-08-22

I just finished the only Great Ormond Street Hospital Authorized sequel to Peter Pan. I was enchanted. I'm really (yes I'll admit it) only just emerging from childhood at the tender age of twenty-one, and Peter Pan has always been near and dear to me. He may very well remain the last firmly rooted sprig of summer in my heart as I continue to grow up, though not old, I must make that very clear, I will never grow OLD, just UP.
Anyhow, in Choosing Geraldine McCaughrean they did very well. Peter Pan in Scarlet was amazing. I wasn't sure how it would be, but I loved it. I won't spoil much, but she turned Captain Hook into sort of a Tragic Villain, I liked that. He had a lot more depth in Barry's original story than anyone ever gave him anywhere else, and she took that and expanded upon it. She made it quite clear that even notorious villains don't emerge from their mother's womb, wielding a cutlass, already in the state in which we love to hate them. It was very clever.
The best part about the story is that it reads like the original book Peter Pan and Wendy. It's not exactly the same since P.P.and W. was based on Barry's play, (I don't think you could ever successfully stage the sequel) and this was a book to begin with, but it has the same spirit and almost the same voice. It can't have exactly the same voice, because sir James M. Barry and Geraldine McCaughrean are two different people (not to mention that they lived nearly a century apart) and, although feminists everywhere would bluster, Men and Women have a different voice, they simply do not sound exactly the same when they write.
This book was so wonderful that I read it in less than twelve hours and that is saying something for the slow contemplative reader that I am. Anyone that is worried about this book encroaching on their childhood, you needn't fret! It is marvelously true to anything Barry would have wanted. He always told of how Wendy told stories and how no story teller every leaves a good story as it is. There is always more to tell and tidbits of adventure that she forgot the time before. I don't personally think that he would have made Wendy do such things if he didn't believe in them himself. Why else would he have given his famous story over to the Children's hospital, and not kept the profits for himself? Frankly I believe that he valued what his creation could become and do in the hands, minds, and imaginations of those children and everyone who loved it, and he trusted the generations who would come long after he died. Wendy would probably tell you that Mr. Barry has gone off to Neverland to see how his creation is faring, and I wouldn't say she'd be too far off.

Tim Curry is marvelous!.......2007-08-07

This review is specifically of the audiobook and it's hard to imagine a better choice than Tim Curry for reading Peter Pan in Scarlet. He has such a breadth of variety and emotion in his voice that lends richness to an already intriguing and well-written story. We listened to this audiobook on a long car trip and it held the attention of our entire family. They story introduces old characters and new and keeps you interested throughout. I have to confess that I've never been a particularly rabid fan of Peter Pan but my youngest son can't get enough of the "one and only child". This book was a wonder and Tim Curry's interpretation just added to the wonder of the book!

Not a Novel to Pass By.......2007-07-19

Geraldine McCaughrean was, without a doubt, the right person to write this sequel.

In my opinion she wrote a surprisingly sophisticated novel full of playful puns, clever plays on words, and tongue in check explanations of some strange nuances of adulthood. Clever enough to keep the attention of adult readers but presented in such a seamless manner that even young readers will easily understand the presented ideas; abstract though some are.

The Darlings and Lost Boys have all grown up, and all have faced loss and experienced the sorrows of war and the mundane humdrum of modern life. Something odd is happening in Neverland and leaking into the real world. Geraldine McCaughrean has masterfully presented these darker themes with honesty and believability while still keeping them smartly in the background of the plot.

I do not wish to give you a step by step walk through of the plot as some reviewers have done. What is the point in that? But I will say that there will be no disappointment upon completing this book. Readers are greeted by all the characters they knew and loved, given believable explanations of past events that happened while the Darlings made their first visit to Neverland, and are introduced to new and wondrous parts of Neverland including new Faeries and old witches.

And what about Captain Hook? Well... You'll need to read it to see, won't you?

Very disappointing.......2007-06-26

I read to my children every night and they have so enjoyed the Peter Pan prequels from Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. We looked forward to reading them every night and are now looking forward to their next book. However when we read Peter Pan in Scarlet, we were expecting something much better than we found. The story is strange, hard to follow, and has none of the original playfulness of J.M. Barrie that has been so wonderfully captured by Barry & Pearson. We found ourselves having to review each night to remember what happened the night before as the story was so strange, eventually the kids told me that this was not a very good book, but that we should finish it so as to have not wasted the money that was spent on it. Check out the prequels over this sequel.Peter and the Starcatchers

Borrow this book, don't buy it........2007-06-12

I was really looking forward to this book because I loved Peter Pan and Wendy, and Geraldine McCaughrean's The White Darkness. However, the writing was just terrible! I was surprised. Some of my reasons for disliking it -

Continuity - There were so many problems with continuity, I was getting really annoyed and frustrated with G.M.'s lazyness. First, we're told that Peter Pan doesn't sleep. He even spends one evening flying around gathering food for the Darlings, because he wants to keep busy while they sleep and he's awake. Then, towards the end of the book, Peter goes to sleep and has a dream. Ooo... kay... then why did she make such a point of telling us he never sleeps?

No Plot - None. Nothing moves the story forward. The Darlings return to Neverland, and bumble from one side of the island to the other, with the vague goal of finding treasure.

Climax - is frustratingly predictable. I don't want to give anything away, but I saw it coming from page 30... and I'm usually pretty oblivious. :)

But then again, it WAS written for children, and I'm a grown-up. :)

Climax - is the exact same as in The White Darkness. Main character goes into a frenzy of madness atop a frigid mountaintop/glacier. I liked The White Darkness when I read it the first time. I didn't want to read it twice.

Characters - are lame. Raveling Man at the end is very weak. No one has any serious motivations.

Better luck next time, G.M. Your first chapter was excellent... wish you'd been able to keep that voice and tone in the rest of the story.

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Great audiobook for kids and adults

Peter Pan
J.M. Barrie
Manufacturer: Listening Library (Audio)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0739336908
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Book Description

"All children, except one, grow up."

So begins the journey of Wendy, John, and Michael Darling as they follow Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up, to a world where fairies live and children can fly. But beware--dangers abound in this magical land of mermaids, Indians, and fairy dust.
There's always an adventure to be had in Neverland. so come along with the Darling children as they soar into the night sky "second star to the right and straight on till morning."

Customer Reviews:

Great audiobook for kids and adults.......2007-08-29

Jim Dale, who reads the Harry Potter audiobooks, does a FANTASTIC job with this book. I had never read Peter Pan prior to listening to this and my 9 year old son and I were mesmerized by this audiobook. I enjoyed it even more than the Harry Potter books. Adults will enjoy as much as children.

Walt Disney's Peter Pan (Little Golden Book)

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Peter Pan is Golden!

Walt Disney's Peter Pan (Little Golden Book)
RH Disney
Manufacturer: Golden/Disney
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0736402381
Release Date: 2007-01-23

Book Description

Peter Pan and his fairy friend Tinker Bell are back in this vintage Little Golden Book! Featuring gorgeous illustrations from 1952, this children's classic is being reissued just in time for the release of Walt Disney's Peter Pan Platinum Edition DVD.

Customer Reviews:

Peter Pan is Golden!.......2007-06-27

How can you go wrong with Peter Pan and Little Golden Books?! My daughter (2 years old) wanted very badly to read her mother's vintage Disney Storybook version of Peter Pan. But we didn't want that 30+ year old book to get messed up, which it would in the hands of a well-meaning but enthusiastic toddler. So I went on a search and found this Little Golden Book that has the identical art and text as the original Disney hardback, but in the inexpensive and toddler friendly Little Golden Book format. Now my daughter can read about Pan, Hook, and Tiger Lillie to her heart's content!

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens : Peter and Wendy (Oxford World's Classics)

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A Neat Package
Half Great, Half Not-So-Great
A Great Book!
More creative than his later, popular stories of Peter.

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens : Peter and Wendy (Oxford World's Classics)
J. M. Barrie
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

ASIN: 0192839292

Book Description

In Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, J.M. Barrie first created Peter Pan as a baby, living a wild and secret life with birds and fairies in the middle of London. Later Barrie let this remarkable child grow a little older and he became the boy-hero of Neverland, making his first appearance,
with Wendy, Captain Hook, and the Lost Boys, in Peter and Wendy. The Peter Pan stories were Barrie's only works for children but, as their persistent popularity shows, their themes of imaginative escape continue to charm even those who long ago left Neverland. This is the first edition to include
both texts in one volume and the first to a present an extensively annotated text for Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.

Customer Reviews:

A Neat Package.......2007-03-19

Hmm...., Peter and Wendy is obviously a five star book all the way, but what about Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens? Well, it's not really a complete book, first off. It's just a large section taken out of an earlier Barrie book titled The Little White Bird. So its very fragmented. Second, since it's more of a springboard the for ideas that formed the Peter Pan play than anything else, it repeats quite a bit of what we have already seen multiple times in many of the famous Peter Pan adaptations.

Even so, I did get a lot of enjoyment out of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Aside from the first chapter (which isn't much fun if you haven't been to the gardens), I was quite entertained. Barrie's theory that people are born as birds and then turn into humans afterward is pretty wild, and I loved Peter's interaction with the girl who was captured by the fairies. Peter thought he played games the same way all real boys did but just embarassed the heck out of himself, throwing the hula-hoops or whatever those things were in the water. Poor guy.

So all in all, you have a great introduction followed by a good book fragment and topped off with an all-time classic. Not a bad purchase at all.

Half Great, Half Not-So-Great.......2007-02-22

If you've seen Peter Pan in theater and film, you might think that you know him.

If that is the breadth of your exposure, then you do not.

As it turns out, J.M. Barrie's Novelization of the classic play, told in "Peter Pan and Wendy," exposes to us a darker Neverland, with a self-centered and often borderline evil Pan, who serves his best interests first and only, almost without fail. The often humorous Tinkerbell is similiarly darker, displaying a genuine hate for Wendy among others.

That is not to say it isn't good. It is - terribly so. The believability of Pan and the characters around him is excellent, particularly given each one's specific backgrounds and situations, which Barrie provides for the reader in great detail.

"Peter Pan and Wendy" is a quick and interesting read, and read it you should, for it's literary importance shouldn't be overlooked.

"Peter Pan in Kinsington Gardens" is, regrettably, skippable. You may have never heard of this story, and there is a pretty good reason for that, although it provides readers with Peter's upbringing in the land of faeries, it is rather slow-moving and unnecessary background for the main event of the other story.

A Great Book!.......2000-11-16

This book is very imaginative and well written. James Barrie tells the history side of Peter Pan that most people do not know about. Each chapter tells a different story about Peter Pan's life in the garden. There are stories about Peter Pan living in the trees with the birds, to stories about how the fairies trick the humans who come to visit Kensington Gardens. This book is both funny and sad at parts, and will make you wonder if you were actually owned by a bird at sometime!

More creative than his later, popular stories of Peter........1999-07-22

If you buy this book, definately get an illistrated edition! The fairy images are gorgeous and worth treasuring. The story itself is beautiful: How Peter fell out of his tram, was taught by the birds to fly and finally returned home to find the window locked to him.

J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys: The real story behind Peter Pan

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Lovely and sad, the story behind "Peter Pan and the Lost boys"
J.M.Barries and the Lost Boys: the real story behind Peter Pan
Sheds a new light on Peter Pan
Tragic loss of dear illusions . . .
Tragic and Beautiful

J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys: The real story behind Peter Pan
Andrew Birkin
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

ASIN: 0300098227

Book Description

J. M. Barrie, novelist, playwright, and author of Peter Pan or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, led a life almost as magical and interesting as his famous creation. Childless in his marriage, Barrie grew close to the five young boys of the Llewelyn Davies family, ultimately becoming their guardian and devoted surrogate father when they were orphaned. Andrew Birkin draws extensively on a vast range of material by and about Barrie, including notebooks, memoirs, and hours of recorded interviews with the Llewelyn Davies family and their circle, to describe Barrie's life and the wonderful world he created for the boys. Originally published in 1979, this enchanting and richly illustrated account is reissued with a new preface to mark the release of Neverland, the film of Barrie's life, and the upcoming centenary of Peter Pan.

Customer Reviews:

Lovely and sad, the story behind "Peter Pan and the Lost boys".......2007-07-27

Having found this little book before the advent of the film "Finding Neverland" I was able to read it originally without comparing it to the film, always a good thing. The film, of course, changed much of the true story as films usually do. This book standing alone as far better, but note, it is not a happy story with a happy ending, it is a tragedy, and no one is left unscathed.
The photographs, almost all, were taken by Barrie himself, and are absolutely wonderful. He had a natural artistic sense, and his unposed photos of the five Llewelyn Davies boys, Michael, George, Peter, Jack, and Nico at their play, stay with you. They are dressed in the Edwardian clothes of the time, or in costumes they wore in the elaborate make-believe games they played with their childlike grownup friend Mr Barrie, and those are truly memorable in themselves. Often they are playing with J.M. Barrie's large dog, and one can't help but think of the big dog, Nanna, in Peter Pan, it's acutally quite eerie, seeing that the play "Peter Pan" itself wouldn't be written yet for years.
J.M. Barrie came from a lower class Scottish family, and in childhood lost an older brother to illness. His mother took to her bed griefstricken, for a long period, and once, trying to cheer her, young Barrie put on the older brother's clothes and went to see his mother. For just a moment she thought it was the older brother, and he seemed to see happiness in her eyes; for all his life, the message stayed with him, the boy who would never grow up was the loved boy.
He was a strange, brilliant, gentle, childlike man. Highly regarded in his own time, considered a great playwright, equivilent to George Barnard Shaw in his day; and very prosperous due to his books and plays, married, but childless, and probably not very happy in his marriage which would end in divorce, one day in Kensington Park he saw one of the five young Llewelyn Davies brothers. They struck up a friendship, based on Barrie being quite willing to talk to a child on the child's level. Soon after, he met the rest of the family, who were impressed to meet the famous playwright. Their family was also upper class, well to do, but would soon lose their father to cancer, they would thenceforth be in precarious financial straits. Barrie immediately became a combination father/ big brother to the boys. He also became close friends with their mother Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, but not, I suspect, to the degree the movie implies. It was all about the boys, their innocence, and something he wished to capture and hold on to. His obsessive photography of them makes that clear.
Tragedy struck again, unbelievably, when their mother died of cancer as well, at a young age, after a relatively brief illness. By then Barrie was such a part of their lives that his continued influence, and the benefit of his money in seeing to it that all five boys finished school in the manner befitting their "class", was accepted by the boys' extended family. He stayed involved in all their lives indefinitely, though it is interesting that he had his favorites, and the two who were not favorites resented and disliked him as they grew older.
The book stops with the boys' growing up, though he did stay involved with them as a surrogate parent. Tragedy did hound the family, but unlike some reviewers I am not sure that it can be blamed on JM Barrie's role in their lives. In fact, without him, financially they would have far worse off.
It is true the boy named Peter resented that the play was named "Peter Pan", and of course he was teased at school, and Barrie probably should have thought of that. (Of course without Barrie he most likely wouldn't have been at Eton to be teased.)
Two footnotes: all the proceeds of the play went to the Children's Hospital in London for 100 years, until recently with the 100 years anniversary, the copyright ran out, and now it is in the public domain. No proceeds of his biggest success ever went to Barrie.
Also, the girl's name: "Wendy", was first used in the play. It was an unknown name before that. Barrie used it in memory of a young daughter of a friend who was named Wendy, and who died at age 5. (Not known where that family got the name from, or if it was a nickname.) It was not a name known previously and "Peter Pan" popularized it.
Its an excellent book, an opening via the photographs into another long-gone time, a sad story, but not I believe, due to Barrie. I believe he meant well, and tried his best to be a friend to that unfortunate family. He had his demons as do we all, but to "love" children, in that era, to befriend them, and even play with them when they were pre-teens, could still occur without any implication of perversity; and even to sleep with a child, the concern of one reviewer, was, at the end of the Victorian world, seen as a pure and innocent act, like a parent and child might sleep together...I think it is hard for us in our cynical age to see things as the late Victorians/Edwardians did. No whisper of scandal or of anything improper ever came from any of the five boys, their family, servants, or anyone else connected with them; and I think had there been it certainly would have come to light. I believe he truly loved the boys, and they in turn, after he knew them several years, and had observed their play and their natural talk and style, influenced him to write his masterpiece "Peter Pan".

J.M.Barries and the Lost Boys: the real story behind Peter Pan.......2007-03-08

This is one of the bases for the movie "Wonderland" but reading this book will creep you out on J.M.Barrie. You might never really like Peter Pan again. Author had access to his papers, letter, diaries etc. Very weird stuff.

Sheds a new light on Peter Pan.......2006-11-03

I found this book to be a well-researched and moving account of not only Barrie's life but also the lives and deaths of the original "Lost Boys". After reading this book, I read Peter Pan again in a whole new light and enjoyed it even more. I think reading this book is essential in order to fully appreciate the entire Peter Pan experience as it truly helps to bring the characters alive.

Tragic loss of dear illusions . . ........2006-09-12

I read this book over 15 years ago in an attempt to find out who the author of Peter Pan really was, and what his life was like. It was not a pleasant or easy read. I wanted to forget all about it and just have the enchantment of "Peter Pan," but as with the real life of the author and photographer of "Alice in Wonderland," the truth can wound deeply. But lies and half-truths can never reveal the relationship between biography and art, so one must often face much disturbing information in order to understand the art itself. This is not to say that art is reducible to biography; it is not. There is, nevertheless, a kind of dialectic (God, I do hate to sound so gawdawful jargony, but when it so plain, other words just do not work) between the life of a genius and the art of the same individual. The truth of art can only come from the struggle between an artist's vision and the life that made such a vision a necessity. Yes, a necessity: there are those artists whose lives were so fraught with sheer catastrophe that revelation through a skewed fantasy can be so powerful as to take on a "life" of its own. And this is why it is so grievous to "paint-over" the unpleasant details of such a life. There was a recent film with an appropriately disturbing title: in the attempt to not really "find" Neverland in Barrie's life, the art itself is drained of its truly tragic roots. At the time such "nice" little fantasies are presented, they seem so harmless, but they are not. Successful attempts to eradicate truth can also eradicate the depth of the art itself. "Neverland" is a word that begs a little attention: a land where children "never grow up." This is not to say that they physically die - no - instead they live their lives, as did Barrie, in a desolate, lifeless, and desperately lonely "land" and try, from within their internal isolation, to bring others along for the rides to nowhere and "never." Where else could such a person bring another? If one lives in "Neverland" of the mind, there is nowhere else to lead another - nowhere else to go. And if we do not face unpleasant truths as they are revealed in the crucible where life and art meet, we learn nothing further from the art. It is better, actually, to know nothing of an artist's life than to be fed untruths. I would suggest the readers either read this book and/or see Peter Pan, but would urge them *not* to see Peter Pan after experiencing a false represenation - no matter how "well-performed" the falsehood is presented. The play or story would be meaningless. The truths, whatever you choose to make of them are here in this book, like it or not. And once the genie is out of the bottle (such as when you have been fed a disingenuous Hollywood film or other disingenuous account), to refrain from the truths of an artist's life is a violation of the art. No one can any longer understand or be truly moved by Peter Pan, much less try to interpret it based upon a sugar-coated Hollywood paint-job. And the effect goes on: if other artists were inspired by Barrie's work (perhaps because it touched the nerves of their own catastrophic lives), and all we have is a candy-coated film, their art and whatever in their lives might have inpired their interest in Barrie's work is also distorted. I do not know if truth sets anyone "free," but I do know that untruths distort and harm. And then the distortion goes on . . . This book cuts deep, but struggles for truths, which is what a biography of an artistic genius should try very hard to do.

Tragic and Beautiful .......2006-02-01

Prompted by the movie "Finding Neverland" I wanted to learn more about the Davies family and their relationship with Barrie. My research lead me to this book. The tragic story of the boys and Barrie was an eye opening read. Birkin is an artful weaver of ancedotes, interviews and history. While I was reading the book I got lost.I started feeling like I was an intimate friend of the families, instead of curious observer. Furthermore, Birkin's website has been updated with more pictures and media files. The website coupled with the book really saturates you into the life of the 5 boys and the mindof the man who loved them very much. A beautiful account of a flawed and tragic life.

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Walt Disney's Peter Pan
Lara Bergen
Manufacturer: Disney Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1423104757

Average customer rating:

Simply Enchanting
A Classic Continues to Charm...
Terrific illustrations/ Classic story!
What Caused the Birth of the All-Time Peter Pan Fan - A Review by Tinkerbell III
Peter Pan ROCKS

Peter Pan
J. M. Barrie
Manufacturer: Viking Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0670841803

Amazon.com

"All children, except one, grow up." Thus begins a great classic of children's literature that we all remember as magical. What we tend to forget, because the tale of Peter Pan and Neverland has been so relentlessly boiled down, hashed up, and coated in saccharine, is that J.M. Barrie's original version is also witty, sophisticated, and delightfully odd. The Darling children, Wendy, John, and Michael, live a very proper middle-class life in Edwardian London, but they also happen to have a Newfoundland for a nurse. The text is full of such throwaway gems as "Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter Pan when she was tidying up her children's minds," and is peppered with deliberately obscure vocabulary including "embonpoint," "quietus," and "pluperfect." Lest we forget, it was written in 1904, a relatively innocent age in which a plot about abducted children must have seemed more safely fanciful. Also, perhaps, it was an age that expected more of its children's books, for Peter Pan has a suppleness, lightness, and intelligence that are "literary" in the best sense. In a typical exchange with the dastardly Captain Hook, Peter Pan describes himself as "youth... joy... a little bird that has broken out of the egg," and the author interjects: "This, of course, was nonsense; but it was proof to the unhappy Hook that Peter did not know in the least who or what he was, which is the very pinnacle of good form." A book for adult readers-aloud to revel in--and it just might teach young listeners to fly. (Ages 5 and older) --Richard Farr

Customer Reviews:

Simply Enchanting.......2007-06-28

Even an original hardback copy of Peter Pan would be hard pressed to live up to this incredibly illustrated edition. When I picture various scenes from Peter Pan, I have an idea of what everything looks like. Amazingly, illustrator Scott Gustafson captures these scenes beautifully, and through a magic of his own he brings them to life.

I am so entranced with this edition that I am buying copies for every child of my family and friends. Imagination is quickly becoming a lost art for all but the youngest of children. An incredible book such as Peter Pan illustrated in such an artful way by an artist such as Scott Gustafson helps us all to find the magic of imagination once again.

Do not miss out on this book, and look for many of Scott Gustafson's other illustrated books while you can!

A Classic Continues to Charm..........2007-01-11

Bought this to read to my sons and they enjoyed it as much as I did when I was a child. The pictures are outstanding and helps little imaginations soar into dreamland. Adventures abound in the book and in my children. J.M. Barrie created a treasure to last through all time.

Terrific illustrations/ Classic story!.......2007-01-11

The artist has created stunning paintings that accentuate this beloved classic tale. The models chosen to portray each character were great choices and I love his use of lighting throughout. I was surprised, though, by the amount of violence throughout the story. It's subtle enough to avoid lasting impressions, but it should be noted. Interesting how Barrie pits every female on the island against Wendy. The girls just can't seem to get along. Peter is definitely the much sought-after Alpha male figure.

What Caused the Birth of the All-Time Peter Pan Fan - A Review by Tinkerbell III.......2006-02-09

What Caused the Birth of the All-Time Peter Pan Fan - A Review by Tinkerbell III

"Peter Pan" by J.M. Barrie is my all-time favorite book! It is almost impossible to descibe how MUCH I love it, but I can at least tell you why.
It starts off with the line "All children, except one, grow up." That one child is Peter Pan, and he and the fairy Tinker Bell whisk Wendy Darling and her two brothers to the Neverland, the island you visit only in childish dreams. There the three children meet everyone from Lost Boys to pirates. After several adventures, including the near death of Tink, Peter and the conscience-battered Hook meet on the pirate ship for the final battle.
Barrie wrote this book in such a style that it feels like he is right there telling you the story. Plus, this particular edition has over fifty brilliant oil paintings by Scott Gustafson. There are pictures ranging from Michael's teddy bear to the Darling's nursery to the mermaids of Mermaids' Lagoon. Even the endpapers are beautiful (they are done like maps of Neverland). They only enhance the magic that Barrie masterfully penned.
It is nearly impossible for me to give any complaints about this book, but I will say that for younger children an adapted version (such as "Peter and Wendy" by) would be better - the old-fashioned grammar in this book may be hard for the gay and innocent and heartless to understand.

P.S. Check out the other Peter Pan-related reviews by Tinkerbell III!

Peter Pan ROCKS.......2006-01-21

Peter Pan is a really good book. My sister read it to me when I was nine or ten. I give it four stars because it's not my favorite book. I love these illustrations by Gustafson, but I always feel really bad for Peter Pan. He has no mother (like he cares) and the end is kind of sad. Over all I really like it. I suggest it to anyone who likes fairies

Peter Pan : The Original Tale of Neverland, Complete and Unabridged

Average customer rating:

Success of digital photo in storytelling.
at last the full story- again!
Unabridged and relived
Pure beauty
Pure Magic!

Peter Pan : The Original Tale of Neverland, Complete and Unabridged
J. M. Barrie , and Raquel Jaramillo
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0743214498

Book Description

Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie's tale of the boy who wouldn't grow up, remains one of the most beloved children's books ever written. For nearly a hundred years, kids across the world have drifted off to sleep dreaming about Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys, pixie dust and ticking clocks, crocodiles and Captain Hook. But in spite of the story's visual richness, it has never been illustrated photographically until now.

In this lavishly produced edition of the unabridged adventure classic, designer and illustrator Raquel Jaramillo interprets Peter Pan through her wondrous photographic imagery. By blending illustration, photography, and computer technology, she blurs the lines between fiction and reality. The result is fresh and startlingly beautiful -- pure magic. Neverland comes alive with the immediacy and drama of a movie. Pirates stalk savage forests, mermaids swim through sun-kissed seas, children fly above undiscovered islands. Portrayed with a flesh-and-blood intimacy, the beloved characters of Peter Pan, Wendy Darling, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, and Nana seem more real than ever before.

Part ghost story, part love story, tender, funny, and wise, Peter Pan is a haunting work that appeals equally to boys and girls. But in the wake of numerous abridged retellings, the famous Disney adaptation, and other big-screen updates, the true nature of the novel has been somewhat forgotten, its impact diminished with each passing generation. Jaramillo's stunning re-creation secures the legacy of the tale, in all its complexity, for a second century. It will prove to be as ageless as Peter himself.

Customer Reviews:

Success of digital photo in storytelling........2002-12-26

I've read the story/play before getting this book, and I must say the digital images really elaborates a new wave of magic. The digital imaging photographs are great in company with the writing. The colors are fantastic and the typography really promotes the tension of the plotline. For any illustration or fine art student this is one book you must have for reference. It is like taking Disney's Peter Pan into live action, except with lesser background scenes.

at last the full story- again!.......2001-11-28

For those who have never read J. M. Barrie's long, quirky & involved story of a boy who can fly, loses his shadow & talks with fairies & the girl who befriends him & learns to fly too. It's all there & I was surprised at how long it is. It could take a month of daily reading to your children to finish it!

This complete & unabridged original tale of Neverland(no, it was not ever Never Never Land!) is rich in Victorian/Edwardian England's sense of humor & propriety; of starched strangers getting to know each other across social barriers; of precious parents torn with guilt & passionate dogs bereft of duty. Of cocky young boys & mean-spirited pirates; of exotic redskins & luring mermaids & that dreadful ticking crocodile! Certainly not for the politically correct!

It is also rich in an entirely new way for Raquel Jaramillo has set Barrie's story to photographs in an immediate, fantastically textured, dreamy & magical way. This illustrator has refreshed the images to this oft-abbreviated story & revived its delightful & scary philosophies.

Psychology & political correctness aside, Raquel Jaramillo has done well with this master storyteller's greatest tale. Adults & children alike will be able to identify with the whole cast & once again become immersed in the magic.

"Second to the right & then straight on until morning..." how many nights did I slip into sleep, murmuring that phrase & dreaming I was on my way to Neverland where the Lost Boys made their homes(after all, girls were much too clever ever to fall out of their prams & get lost!)

Unabridged and relived.......2001-08-18

Simon and Schuster present the original, unabridged tale of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie to a new generation of readers. The 1911 tale is in a large sized book with 134 pages and colorfully illustrated life-like pictures.

I remember the story of Wendy Darling, her brothers, parents, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Neverland, the mermaids, Tiger Lily, and all the wonderful situations that made up this animated fairytale in print. From the moment Wendy and Peter Pan meet, to the first flight, to the trips to Neverland and all the escapades that followed, to the end with a grown up Wendy and her own child -- it's all here in the manner in which it was really meant to be told. It's too unique to be missed by young or old. Rereading it as a grown-up was a magical experience.

Although I see nothing wrong with the Disney adaptation of Peter Pan, I am glad to see the original version back in fresh print. There isn't anything in Peter Pan I feel would affect young children, it's just a lengthy tale that would most likely take a week of bedtime reads to finish.

Pure beauty.......2001-06-18

This book tells the original story that started the Pan legend before TV and movies hooked it into something else. The story remains timeless as expected of a classic, but this time awesome new illustrations by Raquel Jaramillo will send parents and children to Neverland in spite of the cost. Computer graphics enhance the illustrator's classy depictions and add to the wonder of a tale that remains ageless and beautiful. The youngster inside all of us will love this great rendition that the author would have loved to read and show to his friend's children.

Harriet Klausner

Pure Magic!.......2001-06-06

Truly, I was taken aback when I first pulled this gorgeous book out of its wrappings. The illustration and pure magic that jumps out from every page will enchant children all of ages (even big kids like me!) This edition of Peter Pan was written and designed with love for the story; that is evident! You'll find a map inside the cover, showing the Lost Boys Territory, Buccaneer Zone, Deadman's Isles, among other things.

Peter Pan presented like this makes a beautiful coffee table book. You'll be anxious to read this to your children, and your older kids will engross themselves over it, too.

This is not the Peter Pan we had growing up! I highly recommend this book to parents and children who really appreciate a classic and a keepsake.

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