Product Description

In August 2004, the Special Trustees of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital launched the search for a sequel to JM Barrie's timeless masterpiece, Peter Pan. The Special Trustees own the copyright and other intellectual property rights to Peter Pan, and to mark the work's centenary, they authorized the creation of a new work that would share the same enchanting characters as the original, and bring as much pleasure to children and adults universally as Peter Pan has done. Fighting off fierce competition from over 100 other writers, Geraldine McCaughrean has been commissioned to write this official sequel. In her entry, the judges found something that captured the elusive spirit of the original whilst offering a fresh and astounding creative response. Like Barrie's story, it will appeal to readers the world over.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67000 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-05
• Released on: 2006-10-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

About the Author
Winner of Whitbread Children's Book Prize (three times)
Winner of Carnegie Medal
Winner of Smarties Bronze Award (four times)
Winner of Blue Peter Book of the Year Award
Winner of Guardian Children's Fiction Award

Customer Reviews

Different!
Summary
This story is set after all our favourite characters have grown up and even one of our friends has died in war. Unfortunately, Peter doesn't recognise Wendy or the boys, at the start of the story when they first return to Neverland, and there are no new Lost girls and boys because the have either been killed by Peter or they have been banished off the island.

Favourite and worst things
My favourite part of the book is the character Firefly the fairy because he is boastful but really funny. The worst thing is that the Wendy Hut is now up at the top of a tree and breaks so Peter gets angry leading him to blame all the guests (Wendy and the boys) and is really unfair to them.

Ratings and recommendations
I would rate this book 7/ 10. I would recommend this book to 8 - 12 year olds who enjoyed the Peter Pan book by J.M Barrie.

Marvelous!
I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this, after all, how could anyone compare to the wonderful J M Barrie? However, McCaughrean really pulled out all the stops and did a marvelous job with this sequel. She found a nifty way of getting the original characters back to Neverland and introduces some wonderful new faces too. The story still has some dark moments, but much less violence than the original, and some marvelous twists as well - like the changes that befall Tootle! All in all, this was a very pleasant surprise and one that I enjoyed immensely.

A new classic
Having read and re-read the original many times as a child, I was thrilled to hear of the imminent release of an officially-sanctioned sequel assuming it wouldn't be allowed if it wasn't good. I know little of Geraldine McCaughrean's writing having read only one of her other books so far (Stop the Train - which is truly fantastic), though I know her outstanding reputation so I expected a great read. And yes, I got it.
The classic Peter Pan tale includes a full compliment of childhood imagery (mermaids, pirates and red indians) and would be a hard job to follow so I had wondered what new elements could be brought in to make this sequel original in its own right. The Lost Boys and Wendy and John are now grown-up and have families of their own, yet all are aware through too-vivid dreams of deeply-disturbing alterations to Neverland, and so they decide they must return to see what they can do to set it right for Peter and their own sakes. There's a theme running through of how wearing another person's clothes helps you be that person, and this adventure begins with the grown-ups squeezing themselves into the clothes of their children to regress to their own childhoods to enable them to return to Neverland. With Peter Pan at the helm, they become explorers following an old Treasure map of Captain Hook's to the top of Neverpeak Mountain. There's intrigue and danger along the way intertwined with the mysterious Ravello with his travelling circus animals. There's also plenty of action with fighting factions of fairies, a maze of witches, roaming men who were once lost-boys but lost their way in Neverland, and a battle across sinking sand.
The book is beautifully packaged in vivid red with evocative and striking silhouettes at the start of each chapter. The cover has a lovely bold image of Peter and the male fairy, Fireflyer, against a fiery lagoon and scarlet sky. This is perfectly apt as Neverland is no longer a lush green garden of adventure, the strong autumn colours reflecting the dangerously-changing times and that there's fire at the heart of Neverland. The ending is expected in the main, Wendy and the Original Lost Boys returning to their London families, but the door to Neverland never shuts and anything could happen......
I found this book to be largely true to the original with evocative descriptive language and sophisticated imagery. The tale is in many ways enchanting, appealing to the spirit of eternal youth, yet it's underscored with a dark ripcord. There's the sinister villain and the hero who is himself flawed. There's the anger of the Roarers, the grief of the mothers who lost those lost boys and, in the background, the scars of World War 2.
Oh yes, I think JM Barrie would heartily approve of this sequel. High praise indeed.