Common Sense Note
The original language is rich, and the story, so much a part of our culture, inspires children to dream. Some of the racial and gender stereotypes, typical for their time, will need explanation.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
"All children, except one, grow up." A century ago, J. M. Barrie launched one of the most famous and enduring classics of stage and literature with that line, and the story has become so embedded in our culture that it is a byword for everything from psychological syndromes to peanut butter.
Though some of the attitudes and language are now a bit dated, this unabridged edition shows clearly why Barrie was considered one of the great geniuses of English literature. By turns dryly witty, poignantly tragic, exciting, and lyrical, the writing is as brilliant as the story, a perfect distillation of childhood fantasies and adult nostalgia.
For today's children, listening to the story is a challenge -- it definitely works best as a read-aloud, even for older kids -- but one well worth undertaking by a patient adult and a child who is an experienced listener.
This tale is every child's birthright, and the watered-down retellings don't do it justice. They miss the complexity and darkness, as essential as the joy and adventure, captured in Barrie's exquisite prose as Peter watches through the window when the children are reunited with their parents: "He had ecstasies innumerable that other children can never know; but he was looking through the window at the one joy from which he must forever be barred."
This edition contains photos from the live-action movie. Many other beautifully illustrated editions are available as well.
From the Book:
[The stars] are not really friendly to Peter, who had a mischievous way of stealing up behind them and trying to blow them out; but they are so fond of fun that they were on his side tonight, and anxious to get the grown-ups out of the way. So as soon as the door of 27 closed on Mr. and Mrs. Darling there was a commotion in the firmament, and the smallest of all the stars in the Milky Way screamed out:
"Now, Peter!"
Plot Summary:
One night Peter Pan flies through the window of the Darling nursery in search of his shadow. There he meets Wendy, Michael, and John, teaches them to fly, and leads them to the home of the Lost Boys in Neverland.
"Of all delectable islands," the author says, "the Neverland is the snuggest and most compact, not large and sprawly, you know, with tedious distances between one adventure and another, but nicely crammed." There, among pirates, Indians, and wild animals, the children have innumerable adventures.
But Captain Hook, the evil leader of the pirates, is determined to wipe out the Lost Boys, and especially the cocky Pan. He concocts a plan to kidnap the boys and Wendy, poison Peter, and make the boys walk the plank while Wendy watches. But Tinkerbell the fairy saves Peter from the poison, setting the stage for a final confrontation aboard the pirate ship.
Related Books:
Other Editions of the Original Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
Peter Pan: The Complete and Unabridged Text, illustrated by Scott Gustafson
Peter Pan (100th Anniversary Edition), illustrated by Michael Hague
Peter Pan: The Original Tale of Neverland, Complete and Unabridged, illustrated by Raquel Jaramillo
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Sexual ContentThe girls are interested in Peter in a way he doesn't understand. |
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ViolenceNothing graphic, but lots, and a very casual attitude toward killing. The children are captured and about to be murdered by the pirates. |
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LanguageTinkerbell calls Peter a "silly ass." |
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Social BehaviorThe children leave home with nary a thought for their parents. Reflects the time in which it was written, when women were domestic, racism was casual, and Native Americans were "redskins." |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoMention of smoking a peace pipe. |
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