Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Searching... Stayton Public Library | JF BARRIE | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
This hardcover edition of the classic tale of PETER PAN AND WENDY has been read and loved by children for generations. Start a new tradition of reading this timeless tale in your home today! •Fully illustrated in color, bringing each tale to life •Filled with humor, adventure and imagination for children of all ages •Great first-time reading for children as well as reading again for parents and grandparents •Beautiful story and unforgettable characters
Author Notes
James Matthew Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan, was born on May 9, 1860, in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. His idyllic boyhood was shattered by his brother's death when Barrie was six. His own grief and that of his mother influenced the rest of his life. Through his work, he sought to recapture the carefree joy of his first six years.
Barrie came to London as a freelance writer in 1885. His early fiction, Auld Licht Idylls (1888) and A Window in Thrums (1889), were inspired by his youth in Kirriemuir. After publishing a biography of his mother Margaret Ogilvy and the autobiographical novel Sentimental Tommy, about a boy living in a dream world (1896), he concentrated on writing plays.
The Admirable Crichton (1902), the story of a butler who becomes king of a desert island, helped to establish Barrie's reputation as a playwright. Meanwhile, he began to relive his childhood by telling the first Peter Pan stories to the sons of his friend, Sylvia Llewellyn Davies. The play Peter Pan was first performed in 1904 and published as a novel seven years later. Its imaginative drama, featuring the eternal boy's triumph over the grownup Captain Hook, idealizes childhood and underscores adults' inability to regain it. These resonant themes made it a classic of world literature.
Barrie's later work shows his increasingly cynical view of adulthood, particularly in Dear Brutus (1917). Often considered his finest play, it concerns nine men and women whose caprices destroy a miraculous opportunity to relive their lives.
Barrie married the former Mary Ansell in 1894. They divorced in 1909, never having any children. Barrie died in London on June 19, 1937.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-6-This classic tale of the boy who wouldn't grow up, his earthly friends, and their adventures in Neverland is a popular subject for illustrators. This anniversary edition contains the "original unabridged text," but offers nothing unique or fresh. The abundant small illustrations and full-page spreads decorate, rather than enliven, the story. Ingpen's artwork is a combination of line drawings and pen-and-ink and watercolor paintings. Waiflike portrayals of the children and muted, hazy colors create a nostalgic "days gone by" aura. The colors and shading also emphasize the sense of fantasy. Unfortunately, they also create emotional distance. Both the story and characters lack visual energy. Neither the playful whimsy nor the lurking dangers of Neverland come through in the art. The depiction of the battle between Captain Hook's pirates and the Indians is laden with stereotypical images. Libraries needing another version of Peter Pan have plenty of choices, including editions illustrated by Michael Hague, Michael Foreman, Trina Schart Hyman, and Arthur Rackham. This one won't be missed.-Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
This hundredth-anniversary edition is notable for its painterly illustrations, which reflect touches of Sendak, Wyeth, the pre-Raphaelites, and others. The overall effect of the art is impressionistic, and the book itself is handsome. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.