By: Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson Publisher: Disney Editions Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Disney Editions Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 480 Publication Date: May 01, 2006 Reading Level: Ages 9-12 Release Date: April 25, 2006
Don'teven think of starting this bookunless you're sitting in a comfortable chair and have lots of time. Afast-paced, impossible-to-put-down adventure awaits as the young orphan Peterand his mates are dispatched to an island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. Theyset sail aboard the NeverLand, a ship carrying a precious and mysterious trunk inits cargo hold, and the journey quickly becomes fraught with excitement anddanger. Discoverrichly developed characters in the sweet but sophisticated Molly, the scary butfamiliar Black Stache, and the fearless Peter. Treacherous battles withpirates, foreboding thunderstorms at sea, and evocative writing immerses thereader in a story that slowly and finally reveals the secrets and mysteries ofthe beloved Peter Pan.
Amazon.com Review: Humorist Dave Barry and suspense writer Ridley Pearson have clearly taken great delight in writing a 400-plus page prequel of sorts to Scottish dramatist J.M. Barrie's beloved Peter Pan stories. The result is a fast-paced and fluffy pirate adventure, complete with talking porpoises, stinky rogues, possible cannibals, a flying crocodile, biting mermaids, and a much-sought-after trunk full of magical glowing green "starstuff." Ever hear of Zeus? Michelangelo? Attila the Hun? According to 14-year-old Molly Aster they all derived their powers from starstuff that occasionally falls to Earth from the heavens. On Earth, it is the Starcatchers' job to rush to the scene and collect the starstuff before it falls into the hands of the Others who use its myriad powers for evil.
On board the ship Never Land, an orange-haired boy named Peter, the leader of a group of orphaned boys being sent off to work as servants in King Zarboff the Third's court, is puzzled by his shipmate Molly's fantastical story of starstuff, but it inextricably binds him to her. Peter vows to help his new, very pretty friend Molly (a Starcatcher's apprentice) keep a mysterious trunk full of the stuff out of the clutches of the pirate Black Stache, a host of other interested parties, and ultimately King Zarboff the Third.
The downright goofy, modern 8-year-old boy humor sometimes clashes with an old-time pirate sensibility, and the rapid-fire dialogue, while well paced, is far from inventive. Still, the high-seas hijinks and desert-island shenanigans will keep readers turning the pages. Greg Call's wonderful black-and-white illustrations are deliciously old-fashioned and add plenty of atmosphere to a silly, swashbuckling story that shows us how Peter Pan came to fly and why he, and his story, will never get old. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
Exciting Kids' Yarn-But No Harry Potter I purchased this book to read with my 9 and 15 year old boys this summer. Between vacations, sleepovers, and then back to school, we never finished it. But believing, as I do, that once you start a book YOU FINISH IT, I read it all the way through. Being a 53 year old man, I understand this book was not written for me. In fact, due to the constant jumping back and forth between the three concurrent stories, in chapters that were often not more than a page or two, I felt like I was developing ADD from the read. In my 53 year old self, I also bemoaned the lack of any internal dialogue, meaningful insight to the characters' motivations and intentions--in other words, no real character development. I also missed having the fine wordplay present in good literature. Instead, this book has one clear goal--to tell an exciting, entirely plot driven story, with characters that kids would find fantastic, exercising powers that kids would find cool, in situations that kids would find strange and exotic. In this goal, the book succeeded pretty well. The pacing is brisk, with the focus clearly and almost entirely on plot development. It was almost like a movie in words. In conclusion, for me, this book is good, clean fun for kids--but hardly anything of the quality of, say, Harry Potter. Also, a Warning--to those who are reading this book looking for fidelity to the JM Barrie Peter Pan classic, forget it; there's really not more than just a nod to the original.
very surprised! I got to page 54 I think and the scene described was shocking! I put the book down and have not finished it! For a youth reader book, this was very inappropriate!
amazing I haven't finished the book yet but so far I have really enjoyed it. Its a book for all ages and you get sucked into the story right away. :) I can't wait to read the other books :)
Fun series; I always wanted to know what happened to make Peter the way he is! What happened before Peter Pan met Wendy? That's what Berry and Pearson try to address in this book. And it's a lot of fun to read about. This book is the first in a trilogy about the orphan Peter and the Starcatchers.
Peter and his orphan buddies are shipped off on a rickety old boat called the Neverland. They are going to be slaves to the king of far off country. Peter befriends a girl on the boat named Molly, who is a starcatcher. When Peter bumps into Molly near a mysterious trunk on the Neverland, things start to get crazy.
This book had lots of things that young children will love. Lots of action, pirates, falling stars, magic, and danger. It was a great book and a fun read. Some parts might be a bit scary for little kids. There is some walking the plank and people held at gunpoint; but it's all part of the wild adventure to obtain the magic trunk.
I look forward to reading the next book in this series! karissabooks.blogspot.com
Interesting but not a must read Now I can't compare this prequel to the original Peter Pan because I have never read it and since this is really connected to Disney's and I only have vague recollections of the movie so I can't judge on how it compares. It is a strong fantasy story. Character's aren't as defined as I liked and I felt like it was missing some things. I have come to realize that my favorite character from Peter Pan is Tinker Bell and I missed her in this. I also wanted to know more about the Starcatchers I feel like they could have expanded more on them and their mystical treasure. The book is okay and I am not sure I will read the other books in the series written by the authors because basically if I do, it would be to say I read them and not because I loved the series. I thought there would be more humor since author Dave Barry was co-author. There was some humor but could have it could have been lighter.
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