The Little White Bird - Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

By James Matthew Barrie

Pook Press celebrates the great Golden Age of Illustration in children's literature. Many of the earliest children's books, particularly those dating back to the 1850s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Pook Press are working to republish these classic works in affordable, high quality, colour editions, using the original text and artwork so these works can delight another generation of children. Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was one of the premier illustrators of the early 20th Century. He illustrated many books, the first of which was published in 1893. Throughout his career he had developed a very individual style that is was to influence a whole generation of children, artists and other illustrators. His haunting humour and dreamlike romance adds to the enchantment and fantasy of children's literature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Apr 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781473380967

James Matthew Barrie

J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) was a Scottish playwright and novelist best remembered for creating the character Peter Pan. The mischievous boy first appeared in Barrie's novel The Little White Bird in 1902 and then later in Barrie's most famous work, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, which premiered on stage in 1904 and was later adapted into a novel in 1911. An imaginative tale about a boy who can fly and never ages, the story of Peter Pan continues to delight generations around the world and has become one of the most beloved children's stories of all time. Peter's magical adventures with Tinker Bell, the Darling children, and Captain Hook have been adapted into a variety of films, television shows, and musicals.

Reviews for The Little White Bird - Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

[terris-7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book from 1902 introduces the first appearance of Peter Pan who is to be found wandering London's Kensington Gardens at night. However, this only takes up a very few chapters in the book. The rest being the story told by a man about his relationship with a little boy and the boy's mother. It is very unusual and the early 1900's English used is sometimes difficult to tell what is actually meant. It was not really one of my favorites, but I am glad I read it because I was wanting to get to the origin of Peter Pan, and at least I accomplished that! This may not be for everyone, it is not a children's book, and I don't know that I would recommend it. I think you'll just have to read it for yourself to decide ;)

[bookish59 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very old-fashioned story of parents and children, kindness and lots of fairy tales. The story of Peter Pan begins toward the end of this book; a bit awkwardly I feel as though it was tacked on as an afterthought. The Captain, who narrates The Liittle White Bird, has a gruff exterior to his neighbors and acquaintances and yet he watches the life story of Mary and her painter beau William unfold, he does all he can to help them without revealing his identity. I enjoyed the challenge of deciphering the euphemistic language throughout the book; in Chapter 4 especially! Captain becomes a great friend to David, Mary's son in a way that would never be permitted today. Very different times! Mary sleuths to learn who her family's benefactor is while the Cap'n does everything he can to prevent her finding out. You'll have to read the book to find out which one succeeds. Good read but I was expecting more from the author of The Little Minister.

[jami_leigh · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Plot: 3 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Style: 3 stars
Pace: 3 stars

Yes, I know. 12 days into the year and I'm just now finishing one book. My internship has taken up a great deal of my reading time, and because it's slush right now, I'm hardly reading through the whole novel. Be that as it may, as part of my crit partner duties, I'm snagging some of my reading time to read a few classics for As Yet Undisclosed Reasons. This is one of them. If you see other classics from around the same time period, the same reasoning applies. This would have gotten a higher rating, but the strange circumlocution of the storytelling method left me underwhelmed. ;)

[buffycharpentier · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really wanted to like this first introduction to Peter Pan. I can see why publishers separated the Peter Pan story initially from this collection of sequential short stories. We follow the narrator as he stalks a young governess through her life. He takes it upon himself to interfere in her life, in what seems for the better. Ensuring she marries the love of her life and offering monetary support. What I found really hard to get behind was the odd undertones when he spoke of Mary the governess’ son David, and the time they spend together in and out of Kensington Gardens. Through his storytelling he weaves in whimsical tales of the Fae that live in the gardens and of the boy Peter Pan. If the only reason you were looking to read this was to see the first introduction to Peter Pan I highly recommend skipping to his chapters, or just reading the excerpts that were pulled for Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book which introduced the world to Peter Pan. At times delightfully whimsical and funny and other times the themes are quite adult. I'll leave the tag for Children's Literature up, but it's not a bedtime story, directed at older kids, perhaps.