Customer Reviews

Peter Pan

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was an interesting book, full of adventure but also has a more serious side about the need to grow up and grow in wisdom. It makes us realize the consequences of our actions and also the importance of family and friends.

The questions it left unanswered for me were:
-What school is it that Hook went to? What is known for its slouch and walk?
-The question of fairies that are unsure of their sex? Androgynous like angels?
-Forget fairies and you kill them the power of naming or unnaming

A great read for children of all ages, and if you like Peter Pan then check out Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth by J.V. Hart for an introduction to Hook as a young man.

(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)

This was an interesting book, full of adventure but also has a more serious side about the need to grow up and grow in wisdom. It makes us realize the consequences of our actions and also the importance of family and friends.

The questions it left unanswered for me were:
-What school is it that Hook went to? What is known for its slouch and walk?
-The question of fairies that are unsure of their sex? Androgynous like angels?
-Forget fairies and you kill them the power of naming or unnaming

A great read for children of all ages, and if you like Peter Pan then check out Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth by J.V. Hart for an introduction to Hook as a young man.

(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)

This was an interesting book, full of adventure but also has a more serious side about the need to grow up and grow in wisdom. It makes us realize the consequences of our actions and also the importance of family and friends.

The questions it left unanswered for me were:
-What school is it that Hook went to? What is known for its slouch and walk?
-The question of fairies that are unsure of their sex? Androgynous like angels?
-Forget fairies and you kill them the power of naming or unnaming

A great read for children of all ages, and if you like Peter Pan then check out 'Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth' by J.V. Hart for an introduction to Hook as a young man.

(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)

Check out the amazing book that inspires the imagination and touches your heart. This is the universal and timeless classic that spawned countless adaptations... and there's a reason: It's a lovely book! Who doesn't know Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, Wendy Darling or any of the other classic- even iconic- characters? Written about childhood with children in mind it appeals to the adolescent in all of us- simpler, idealistic, and let's face it: selfish. It's a beautiful book that has been around a hundred years and will be around a hundred more, because even as we grow up, Peter Pan never does!

Everybody knows and loves Peter Pan -- the immortal, flying imp who lives in a floating otherworld, battles pirates, and never has to grow up.

And J.M. Barrie's classic tale "Peter Pan" really hasn't lost any of its charm, although those who have only seen the Disney movie may be shocked at how dark it can be at times. It's a strange, whimsical little story with a bittersweet edge, but it also reminds you about the allure of never growing up... even if it is necessary.

Young Wendy Darling is woken by a strange boy in her room, who has lost his shadow. That boy is Peter Pan, a flying boy from Neverland who regularly eavesdrops at her house because he likes the bedtime stories her mother tells. Since Wendy ALSO knows bedtime stories (and can potentially "make pockets"), Peter whisks Wendy and her brothers Michael and John off to Neverland.

However, Neverland is not a place devoid of dangers -- there is a pirate ship there (don't as me how; if it's explained, I don't remember), led by the villainous Captain Hook. Hook is constantly trying to kill Peter and his Lost Boys, and it doesn't take long for Wendy and the other boys to be captured. Can Peter save them from his archnemesis?

Children are "innocent and heartless" by nature, and it feels like "Peter Pan" was a homage to that -- it's a childish romp in a fantasyland, where kids can fly, fight pirates and have strange little adventures. Nobody really thinks about the families that are undoubtedly freaking out, or the lives they'll miss out on.

And really, that's part of its charm. It's a fluffy little fantasy story that could have been transcribed out of any child's imagination, with a colorful array of characters who could have been taken out of a Victorian kid's imaginary games (mermaids I understand, but why are there American Indians here? HOW did they get there?).

And Barrie spins out this story in the slightly twee style of Victorian kids' fiction, with lots of details and some charming scenes (the Lost Boys actually build a house AROUND WENDY). It gets a little cutesy at times (fairies are generated by.... baby laughter?) and the handling of the Indians is just horrible, but otherwise it's a fairly charming book.

But it's also darker than you would expect -- Tinkerbell tricks the Lost Boys into trying to kill Wendy, and at first it looks like she's managed. And Peter almost DIES. For real. Not to mention the final chapter, which is a giant lump of bittersweet.

Peter himself is a strangely enchanting figure -- he's almost like a lost Greek god, with a capricious ever-changing nature. And no matter what, you can never catch him or pin him down. As such, most of the other characters don't quite stand out as much, but they're all pleasantly handled -- particularly the three "normal" kids who are all too happy to go to Neverland, until they feel like going home again.

"Peter Pan" takes you briefly back into the experience of being a small child, when you can easily imagine yourself going anywhere at all while still staying "innocent and heartless." It has some flaws, but is charming nonetheless

I absolutely love the story of Peter Pan. A story one must read multiple times during one's lifetime to appreciate it (as a child, a teenager, an adult, and maybe even as a senior - I'll let you know when I get there).

I absolutely love Charles Vess' artwork. Vess' illustration are always inspirational and contain so many subtleties that you can let your eyes wander over them for hours at a time and still find hidden meanings - wether those meanings were meant by the artist or you come up with them on your own is part of the magic.

I absolutely hate that those illustrations weren't in color. Vess is a brilliant colorist and I think this book deserved it.

I first read Barrie's tale of the boy who refuses to grow up when I was 16 (after watching Disney's movie), and I absolutely loved it. It is in every way better than any film ever made which it inspired (although Disney's version is fun to watch and the recent 2003 version is very good and most faithful to the story).

This review, however, is only to comment upon the illustrations. There are various illustrated Peter Pans; but this one is the very best. Trina Hyman's delicate, gorgeous drawings capture the characters to perfect. Peter is particularly good, looking suitably wild and beautiful, and Tinker Bell is a lovely fairy. In so many other illustrated books the characters are either over-dressed or simply grotesque, but Hyman's version of the characters are simply perfect (MUCH better than the Disney version of them!)

If you buy any illustrated Peter Pan, but this one.

No disrespect to Disney intended, but the animated version of Peter Pan does not do justice to this story. I didn't read this book until I took a Children's Literature course for adults...woe to me. Peter Pan is so sweet, pure, sad, funny, and magical. It is definitely not just a children's bedtime story. I'm glad I grew up, but I wish I still had a map to Neverland so I could visit every once in a while.

In almost a hundred years 'Peter Pan' has become a universal kiddie literature classic. Mostly basing on his personal experiences and people he knew, J.M. Barrie created a work full of subtle undertones that have been subject of deep controversies.

Rather than the story of a boy who refuses to grow up, a new approach on 'Peter Pan' has been developed. One of the most interesting is the one which is based on the analysis of the three primal female characters: Wendy --and Mrs. Darling, as well--, Tinker Bell and Tiger Lily. According to experts, they represent aspect in women that Barrie found intolerable. It is largely known that Barrie had serious problems with his mother, which may have led him to use such bipolarity on motherhood in the book. While on the one hand Mrs. Darling is a loving and concerned mother, on the other, Peter's --and the lost boy's as well-- mother abandoned him -- leading him to an eternal search of a mother figure, however unconscious it is.

The sexual aspect of the novel is so subtle that for many people it may be unnoticed. However, it is clear that the book deals with several taboos, being incest the most recurrent. Peter and Wendy have both a mother/son relationship, and also there is the wish of being 'lovers' --recurring to Oedipal myth. This is one of the most interesting aspect for the books --at least when it comes to an adult approach on 'Peter Pan'. According to Jacqueline Rose's 'The Case of Peter Pan, or, The Impossibility of Children's Fiction', "The sexuality which matters is both more and less explicit than this. It is sexuality in the form of its repeated disavowal, a relentless return to the question of origins and sexual difference which is focused time and again on the child". This is what makes the novel so intriguing: it is possible to read 'Peter Pan' is more than one way --and all of them are more and more interesting.

When it comes to kids themselves, this book is part a fairy tale, part an adventure and a familiar ode. These aspects make 'Peter Pan' appealing to both boys and girls. The characters while archetypical --this is unnoticeable to children-- are very vivid and it is not hard for young readers become their 'friends'. At the same time, all the 'sexual' aspect of the book is so subtle that parents can't be afraid of allowing their children to read the novel.

However, the unabridged 'Peter Pan' is not advisable to very young readers due to its fanciful language. When it was written in the early XX Century, that was the current language, but, nowadays some words like 'ofttimes' and 'diffidently' are not very common in a 10 year-old lexical. The narrative is told in first person, and the narrator used a lot of 'I''s which only bring the children closer to the story making it easy to feel part of the adventure --it was very smart of Barrie, because with that he makes friend with the child, and the story flows as if they were exchaging confidences.

All in all, J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan' will always be a children's fave and it deserves its place in the Fantasy Literature canon and will amuse young --and not-so-young-- readers forever.

You will laugh, cry and be confused when you read this book. This book can teach you that what you think is good is not always good.

There is a boy named Peter Pan. He sprinkles fairy dust in Wendy and her two brothers. Then he shows them how to fly. He takes them to Neverland and shows them to the Lost Boys who live there. Wendy becomes their mother. She makes up rules, like any other mother would do. The boys have to follow these rules. Everything was fine until Captain Hook came with his crew to where the boys and Wendy were. While Wendy and the boys were at the lagoon, where they go every day after dinner, they see a girl named Tiger Lily, princess of her tribe. She was captured by Smee, one of Captain Hook's men. Then Peter saved her. A few days later Wendy and the boys were on their way to Wendy's house when they too were all captured by Captain Hook. Then Peter saves them. Then the lost boys, Wendy and her brothers go home. All except for Peter.

It is mostly about what the people in the book think is right with childhood. The kids in the book think that if you grow up it is bad, but in our case it is actually good.

Peter Pan is a violent book not really made for children under the age of 10 but people 10 and up can read it. It is violent because of the language that is spoken and the idea that killing could be fun. Also, the vocabulary is very difficult for children under 10 to understand. Even if you're older it is difficult to understand.

Overall, it is a good book but watch out for the violent ideas if you are reading it to little children.