Promotional Information

Fly away with Peter Pan!

About the Author

James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937) was born in Scotland. He moved to London in 1885. He had a high reputation as a playwright, with productions including Quality Street (1901) and The Admirable Crichton (1902). Peter Pan was first produced on stage in 1904 and in 1911 he turned the story into a book.

Reviews

“Barrie wrote his fantasy of childhood, added another figure to our enduring literature, and thereby undoubtedly made one of the boldest bids for immortality of any writer. . . . It is a masterpiece.”
–J. B. PRIESTLEY

Gr 3-7-- A pleasure to view, read, and hold, this new edition of an old favorite deserves space in every collection. From jacket painting, to cover (with Tinker Bell embossed in gold), to endpapers (dark maps of Neverland), Gustafson's artwork opens doors to glimpses of old friends and to new interpretations. Fifty oil paintings reveal expressive, changing characters. Peter Pan is dewy-cheeked, spry, wicked. Maternal Wendy is tender, then stoic. Even Hook is at times downcast. The Indians, proud and handsome, avoid stereotype. Masterly composition and use of light create dramatic full-page illustrations, accompanied by cameos of ordinary objects (kite, bear, tea kettle). Compared to Hague's illustrations for Peter Pan (Holt, 1987), which were dark and surreal, these are light and vital. Handsome bookmaking, Barrie's text, and Gustafson's pictures combine to breathe new life into Peter Pan's old shadow. --Carolyn Noah, Central Mass. Regional Library System, Worcester, MA

"Barrie wrote his fantasy of childhood, added another figure to our enduring literature, and thereby undoubtedly made one of the boldest bids for immortality of any writer. . . . It is a masterpiece."
-J. B. PRIESTLEY