Peter Pan: The Original Tale of Neverland - Hardcover

Barrie, J. M.; Jaramillo, Raquel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743214498 ISBN 13: 9780743214490

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2000

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review

"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

From the Publisher

5 1-hour cassettes

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0743214498
• ISBN 13: 9780743214490
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144