Peter and Wendy

By J. M. Barrie

Welcome to Neverland, where Pirates roam, adventure awaits at every turn, and little boys don’t have to grow up.

One night Wendy darling meets Peter Pan, a flying boy who has lost his shadow. Peter whisks Wendy and her brothers into Neverland, to meet his gang, The Lost Boys, and to be a mother to them. It is one of the most well-known and well-loved children’s stories in the English language.
The novel is an adaptation of the play Peter Pan, which served as a basis for the Disney film of the same name.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: May 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781551998114

J. M. Barrie

J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie (1860--1937) was a novelist and playwright born and educated in Scotland. After moving to London, he authored several successful novels and plays. While there, Barrie befriended the Llewelyn Davies family and its five boys, and it was this friendship that inspired him to write about a boy with magical abilities, first in his adult novel The Little White Bird and then later in Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, a 1904 play. Now an iconic character of children's literature, Peter Pan first appeared in book form in the 1911 novel Peter and Wendy, about the whimsical adventures of the eternal boy who could fly and his ordinary friend Wendy Darling.

Reviews for Peter and Wendy

[vykic37 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Find this review and more at On The Shelf!I absolutely LOVE Tinkerbell, and I am ashamed to say I had never readPeter Panonly seen the Disney version, so I decided to change that and grabbed the audiobook from the library. I thought it was so good and I am glad I finally decided to read it. The language is much different from nowadays of course, but it was still really great. Well-written and very fun, Barrie created a marvelous story for kids and adults. The Neverland world is so creative and must have been such a pleasure for Barrie to write. A little bit of the humor slipped by me since it was written so long ago, but not much. I really enjoyed the reader as well, especially when he did the classic nasally Captain Hook voice we all know so well! The characters were really great as well. The lost boys were adorable and Peter was so stubborn. The only character I really didn’t care much for was the father because he was so incredibly whiny and at one point argued with the youngest child just like a little kid. I liked the way the story ended and I even saw a bunch of references from the movie Hook that I never knew were from the book. If you like classics, this is a must read book! Fun, well-written, wonderful classic, fast read, one for my library!

[bettesbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was so fun to read, my introduction to Peter Pan was in 1955 when Mary Martin did the TV presentation. This follows what I remember of the TV performance as I remember it. It brought back so many nice memories.

[danielstj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5

This was better than I expected. The ending brought it all full circle. A nice little touching piece with the theme of childhood intertwining with the yarn.

[schmerguls · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

23 (re-read) Peter Pan or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up, by J. M. Barrie. This was on Starrett's 1955 list of "books which will live", and I forgot to check my list of books read and so read it. It seemed so familiar, but I did not think I had actually read it. But I did--tho probably not in play form, as this was. It is so saccharine, I really cannot say as an adult it is worth reading. (read Aug. 8, 1998)

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although the story was very familiar to me, I don’t recall ever reading the book before. I saw the Mary Martin version on TV as a child. It struck me this time around how odd the plot is, with everyone expecting Wendy to assume the role of mother to Peter and the Lost Boys. Things have changed in the century since this book was written. Infant and child mortality was a lot higher in the early 20th century than it is now. Women’s mortality from childbirth (or other causes) was also a lot higher then. Children who had lost their mothers, or who had friends or relations who had lost their mothers, might see themselves among the motherless children of Neverland. The story may not resonate with 21st century children in the same way, and that’s a good thing.

[angelarenea-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've always loved the story of Peter Pan and finally got around to reading the book. I think that it brought out the character of Peter more than I was used to and I really enjoyed that.

[sprainedbrain · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I knew the basic story of Peter Pan; still, I was a little surprised at just how dark the book is. I loved the writing style, and the adventure and excitement, but the ending and Peter in general made me sad.I tried to read this with my 6-year-old, but had a hard time keeping his interest. He loved the illustrations and interactive elements of this gorgeous edition.

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Maybe I would have enjoyed this book more if I'd read it as a child, but as an adult I found it just annoyed me, tremendously, especially the character of Peter. I think this is one case in which the Disney adaption was better than the source. Seriously.

[tess_schoolmarm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

About 50 years ago I saw the Broadway show starring Sandy Duncan as Peter Pan. It was much better than the book! 176 pages 3 stars

[benuathanasia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was pleased with how close this is to the stage play (a favorite of my childhood). After Peter Pan in Kensington Park, I expected this to suck. Color me pleasantly surprised.

[matesewiggns · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie is the classical tale of Peter Pan that boy who could not grow up and his adventures in Neverland with Wendy, lost boys, Tinkerbell and Captain Hook. The book have beautiful illustration throughout and is written like a beginners chapter book The first chapters of Peter Pan begins with Peter Pan visiting Wendy, John and Michael Darling, later with Tinkerbell who help the children fly with the help of fairy dust to Neverland . In Neverland the children met the Lost Boys, the Natives and Captain Hook and set sail on a fun adventure. The theme of this book is childhood and imagination which is shown through the character Peter Pan.

[elliepotten · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I probably don't need to say much about this one, right? Classic vintage children's fare: a charismatic yet dangerous young main character, a small army of assorted children, lots of adventures, some dubious attitudes towards women and Native Americans, a dose of tongue-in-cheek humour and plenty of magic. I actually really enjoyed it!

[misslizzy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book somewhat late in life, simply because I thought it was a children's book. Not that I am against reading children's literature, but I really thought that I was too old for this book. Man, was I wrong! This book is actually very adult. Peter's life, how he will always be a child, and will always be alone, made me cry. And the illustrations in this particular edition were gorgeous.

[anodos99_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a lot of fun to read. Much better and very different than the Disney version or any of the other Hollywood attempts, predictably.

[hoosgracie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story of the boy who never grows up. Having listened to Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson's wonderful prequels to Peter Pan (Peter and the Star Catchers and Peter and the Shadow Theives), I wanted to listen to the original - I never had. Well, I really didn't like it. The reader was good, but Peter is a little brat. I think Disney improved on Peter.

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Because Peter Pan is such a well loved, well (over?) produced story, everyone knows the basic plot: three kids unhappy with the way their father has treated the family dog run away with an orphan boy to his Neverland (not to be confused with Michael's Never Land Ranch). Peter and his Lost Boys are looking for a mother and they think they have such a figure in Wendy, one of the Darling children. It's a magical adventure full of danger in the form of pirates, "redskins" and a ticking crocodile. Even the fairies and mermaids are not to be trusted.Upon rereading Peter Pan I was surprised by how slow the story moved in certain sections. Because of the glossed-over, dumbed-down, glitzed-up theater/movie/storybook versions that have popped up over the years I had forgotten Barrie's original 1911 language and long since deleted details. It was hard to picture reading this aloud to a young child. Peter Pan seemed slightly evil (being described as cunning and sly), Tink seemed downright dirty as she responded to her own jealousy over Wendy (gleefully leading Wendy to her death). True to fairy tale form, it does have a happy ending. Sort of.

[slightlyfan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

No wonder this book is a classic. It is a brilliant story about a boy who never grew up.It is a tiny bit hard to read and a little confusing at parts, but if you read it through you will be glad you did.

[suavisvinum · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

still one of my favorite light reads. great book for anyone :D

[bookczuk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun re-read, which had everything to do with the book being offered for free as an e-read, watching the "Once Upon a Time" Peter Pan subplot on Netflix , and reminiscing about my childhood, and nothing to do with the rather dreadful redo of the play that aired while reading this. I just can't unseen Christopher Walken's Captain Hook being carried off stage left by his band of pirates. I'd forgotten how much fun Barrie's language is, and how charmingly the story tells itself.

[fothpaul · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An odd little book. Short and sweet, but with some quite dark images. The character of Peter is very well imagined.

[jami_leigh · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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

Had a review, logging out by mistake ate it. Better than The Little White Bird only because the plot didn't meander quite as far at random, but not what I'd thought it would be. Disney definitely sanitized this, but instead of being shocked, all I could see was how weak Wendy constantly was. She could have been a puppet, for all the difference it made, being nothing more than a "mother" Mary figure. Still, it served the purpose it needed to for the story, so... there's that, at least.

[nmhale_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A children's classic, much beloved by thousands of kids who have never even read the book (thanks to Disney and Tinkerbell). I finally got around to reading it and discovered that, unsurprisingly, the story was much more complex than the cartoon movie version might lead you to believe. We learn a lot more about the Darling family, including the mother and father who are just caricatures in the Disney version, and the theme of not wanting to grow up is fleshed out as Barrie examines the pros and cons of staying forever young. Peter Pan is at once the light-hearted and mischievous imp we all love, but he is also tragic in his eternal youth. Did you ever wonder what happened to the Lost Boys? Or what the family reunion was like when Wendy and her brothers finally return home? Or what became of Wendy as she inevitably grew older? Read the original to find out.The illustrations in this particular edition are gorgeous, one reason I sprang the extra money for a hardcover book. They capture the charm and wonder of Neverland, the whimsy of the story. A wonderful story on both fronts, and well deserving of being called a classic. *On a side note, I believe that the recent live action film version does a much better job of capturing the original spirit of the story.

[drewandlori · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I re-read this recently, and it was actually much better than I'd remembered from my childhood.

[tullae_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The most beautiful, delicately illustrated, unabridged edition I've ever seen. No need to comment on the content. Everyone knows how wonderful the story is.

[saeriellyn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Having been a fan of Peter all my life since listening to the Mary Martin musical soundtrack at a tender age, I am surprised that it took me so long to actually read the original, unabridged story. It is, as an actor from the most recent film version put it, "The most famous book nobody's ever read."I find the book incredible...besides sheer entertainment value and a magical quality that will keep the kids mesmerized, it is packed with odd psychological symbolism that many adults will recognize as the author's venting of his own childhood traumas. A brief look into Barrie's bio makes a lot of the stranger things in Pan far more understandable, if undoubtedly tragic. Barrie does have a rather flippant way of engaging the reader, teasing and goading much the same way as his mischeivous, conscience-less hero. But he also writes with poetic beauty, filling his characters with rich and quirky descriptive elements such as Peter being somehow very like the unnattainable kiss Mrs. Darling keeps in the right-hand corner of her mouth (which only he is then able to get). The book does betray the social conventions of its time in Wendy's attitude toward motherhood (which is only problematic if you are a raving feminist) and a bit more uncomfortably in its depiction of the Indian culture on Neverland. These elements need not detract from the story if one is careful to put them in context for its young readers. The recent film adaptation, although closest of all the films in its adherence to character, is misleading in its interpretation of the story being about the sexual awakening of adolescence. The hidden theme of the book is overwhelmingly the innocence of childhood - innocence in the sense not of inherent goodness, but in inherent un-self-consciousness. Peter is a symbol of eternal childhood, not human at all, and as such is incapable of reciprocating or even understanding Wendy's budding romantic notions. He is selfish, but not self-aware. Ultimately, he is the lament of one man who lost his own mother too soon, and consequently never grew up himself. Be assured, however, that all this goes right over the heads of young readers, and even adults will only catch it by reading critically and analytically. Brilliant literature that deserves its place as a long-beloved children's classic

[ctorstens · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Loved this as a child! I wanted to fly so much I was afraid to look over high bridges for fear I would jump off.

[bzedan_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Man, I do not remember Barrie/Narrator being as angry and hateful during the end when I first read it. Issues.Way more fun than any version based on it, pretty much. More violent, more histrionic, more like children in general. We are simply beasts when we're young and I swear only folks from the that whole UK area are spiteful enough to capture that.

[kendrarenee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good old-fashioned fairy tale, perfect to help one "get away" from real life. And since Barrie's writing is so much more fanciful and creative than any movie could imitate, too, reading the book is more than worth it even if you know the story through and through. I'd like to have this on my shelf once I have kids...

[kberryman44 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a timeless classic that will have any reader wishing they could be ten again. I found the major themes of the book to be about what it means to grow up, and the fear of losing your childhood wonder. Moreover, I have a very personal connection to this story as it was the one book I and my great grandmother loved to read together. Lastly, because this was originally a play the book really relies on dialogue and think it would be a wonderful to use it for readers theater within upper elementary.

[rosenstern · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written. This book was exactly how I imagined it would be. A boy who refuses to grow up technically kidnaps a bunch of children and takes them to a land where they too can never grow up. Also there are pirates, mermaids and Native Americans, because if you can't find Native Americans in Neverland then where can you find them?