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    Peter Pan
    Peter Pan
    Peter Pan
    Audiobook12 minutes

    Peter Pan

    Written by James Matthew Barrie

    Narrated by Robert Rance

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    J.M. Barrie’s classic fantasy tale of the boy who would not grow up brings the fairies, mermaids, and lost boys to young readers. When Wendy, John, and Michael follow Peter Pan to the Neverland they encounter the lost boys, Indians, and Captain Hook and his pirates! The incredible adventures with Peter are retold in the Calico Illustrated Classics adaptation of Barrie’s Peter Pan. Calico Chapter Books is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO Group. Grades 3-8.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbdo Publishing Group
    Release dateJan 1, 2010
    ISBN9781629689432
    Author

    James Matthew Barrie

    J.M. Barrie, the son of a weaver, was born near Dundee, Scotland, in 1860. He was a journalist and novelist and began writing for the stage in 1892. Peter Pan, first produced in London on December 27, 1904, was an immediate success. The story of Peter Pan first appeared in book form (titled Peter and Wendy, and later Peter Pan and Wendy) in 1911. Barrie died in 1937, bequeathing the copyright of Peter Pan to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, a hospital for children.

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    Reviews for Peter Pan

    4/5

    3,179 ratings147 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Ok, I realise Peter Pan was written in the early 1900s, a time not known as a paragon of gender equality. I also realise that a certain amount of leeway has to be allowed to literature as a product of its time. Even with these concessions, however, I still have to say Peter Pan is probably one of the most sexist books I have ever read. Seriously, every single man in the book is indistinguishable from a child. The adults males whinge like children and the boys have strange adult-like moments, despite their apparent youth. Giving all of them childlike feel. I'm not even entirely sure that the adults of Neverland weren't just children pretending to be grownups. Females only seem to have one role and it is a muddled mix of mother/wife. They are also apparently entirely replaceable. One doesn't need their mother/wife, just a mother/wife...who of course has no joy in life beyond caring for the boy/men in their lives.

      The introduction to this version mentioned that when Barrie wrote the original play he wasn't sure what audience it was intended for, adult or child. I can see that. Certainly the Disney version is firmly geared toward children. The book? I'm not so sure. Being the collective imaginings of sleeping children there is no sense of morality in Neverland. The lost boys are a murderous lot, as are the pirates and the red skins. They all hunt each-other in a circular nature that rarely branches out from the established prejudices of their ilk. The body count is surprisingly high. The fairies are capable of only a single emotion at a time and it rarely seems to be unadulterated joy. Tinker Bell spends most of the book in a jealous huff because Wendy has usurped her place as mother/wife and another group of them comes traipsing home after a midnight orgy at one point.

      I liked the narrative style. The woodcut-style pictures in this version were a nice addition (and honestly the only reason I didn't visualise all of the boys as older than they were supposed to be and all of the pirates and red skins as younger than intended). I'm thrilled to have read it, as it's a classic, but I don't think I'll be reading it to my children anytime soon.
    • 3/5
      I don't typically enjoy fantasy literature, which may explain why I didn't love Peter Pan. The story is a familiar one, because of all the attention it has received on the stage and in film, but there is another element added in reading the book. It is much darker and more depressing, and left me feeling dissatisfied. It seemed to me that this stemmed more from the author's internal issues than it did from the author's creative device. The writing style is interesting, though occasionally confusing, as it seems as if you are eavesdropping on a storyteller weaving a tale to a small, young audience. Reading this was an interesting experience, one that I will probably not repeat or supply for my children. We'll stick to the movies, as they provide the story without the darkness.
    • 5/5
      Peter Pan As a boy I always wished to be Peter Pan. I never wanted to grow up to be an adult. I wanted to remain a child having not a care in the world. As time evolved I grew up and before I knew it I was not a child. Troubles of the world concerned me. As a child I had many memories of pretending to be Peter Pan. I use to watch all the Peter Pan movies and read all the children books. I've read Peter Pan many times. This is easily one of my favorite books and its truly for all ages. It not only has an outstanding story but brings back child hood memories and brings a special feeling to all of its readers. There are very few books that have caught my attention like this book. I would highly recommend this wonderful book to all and everyone.
    • 1/5
      Somethingh about Victorian novelists - they come up with great idea but execute them terribly - Peter Pan and Dracula are two iconic figures that are virtually unreadable in the original
    • 5/5
      A little darker than I was expecting - Peter and the boys kill and they don't think about it. Read it first before deciding to read it to your child.
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 3/5
      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
    • 3/5
      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
    • 2/5
      I really did not enjoy this book. It’s really very dark; conditions are bad in Neverland – frequently no food, everyone sleeping in one bed, their clothes in tatters. And they are subject to terror – pirates and redskins, not to mention mermaids and the beasts of the forest. All that being said, I was bored.I never read it as a child, and I am certain that I would not have enjoyed having it read to me as a child. (Although I did enjoy watching the TV special airing of the play starring Mary Martin.) Maybe the problem is that I, like Wendy at the end, have grown up.
    • 3/5
      This was a tough one to read aloud. I read the book, to myself, several years ago but didn't really remember it all. If I had, I don't think I would have chosen to read it aloud. The first few chapters were rather boring and very old-fashioned. Once Peter entered the picture, the story picked up and ds became interested. But then once again, the narrative would seem to just go on and on about nothing until something happened in the plot every once and a while. I found the writing very didactic, conceited and smug and just downright difficult to read out loud. I could just imagine the author chuckling at how witty he thought himself. I have to say the 7yo enjoyed this much more than I. I asked him twice (once near the beginning and once at the mid-point) if he'd like me to stop reading this book and he said no. So he, at least, got something out of it. I have always enjoyed reading the classics to my children but have to say this is one that has not stood the test of time very well.
    • 3/5
      After having picked up Peter Pan from this month's free selection of Audible Originals, I decided to give it a try because lately, I have been enjoying full-cast audio dramas (I find them soothing to listen to).I had mixed feelings about the results, but I was not entirely disappointed.On the positive side, I thoroughly enjoyed the full-cast production and sound effects, which effectively brought this presentation to life.However, aside from the narration, I found this tale utterly dull; I had to rewind several times as I found my attention drifting away from the story. If I am honest, if it were not for the dramatized performance, I would have given up on the story early in the first part.Overall, considering this was a free title, I guess that this performance of Peter Pan was okay. I would probably give other audible Originals a try in the future.
    • 5/5
      I always find something new in this story.
    • 3/5
      I loved the beginning and end of this book, with the poignant reflections on the pain both of letting children grow up and of losing them before they're grown, but feel uncertain about the middle. I remembered pretty quickly why I stopped reading this aloud to my daughter when she was four or five when the Lost Boys shot Wendy out of the sky.

      The whole thing is just so violent, what with killing pirates and being eaten by crocodiles and Tinkerbell's homicidal jealousy of Wendy. My inclination is to shy away from the book because of this, but when I sat and really thought about it, it's really a sort of childish violence. It reads like the kinds of games my otherwise nonviolent children play together around the house as they work out the intense emotions of childhood and try to make sense of their world.

      This book reminds me that my own kids have the same kind of melodramatic, violent imaginary play going on as they pretend to hunt and skin animals and protect their couch cushion fort from enemies. I think I feel uncomfortable with the book because I've not figured out just how to reconcile my own children's sometimes not-so-peaceloving playtime themes.

      Well, whatever my own hangups are with the book, my kids enjoyed it. I can psychoanalyze myself on my own time.
    • 4/5
      I re-read this recently, and it was actually much better than I'd remembered from my childhood.
    • 3/5
      A children's classic I couldn't believe I'd never read! This Peter is a much darker and more sinister version than my perceptions from popular culture but this gives the original story a different dimension. I very much enjoyed it in a melancholy kind of way.
    • 4/5
      I can't believe I've never actually read Peter Pan until now. I'd seen the Disney version, but this is both more charming and more sinister than that. There are lots of sweet little details, like mothers tidying up their children's thoughts, and the kiss on the corner of Mrs Darling's mouth.

      But Peter is a monstrous sort of figure when you get past the romance of Neverland. He's a wild boy, selfish and cocky. Instead of being a kind of example of innocent childhood, he almost brings to mind the boys from Lord of the Flies. Near the end, it says that he nearly stabs Wendy's baby! And he steals other children.

      Of course, the moral of the story is that children need mothers. It's just charming enough to get away with the moralising.
    • 4/5
      Such a beautiful book...after growing up with more child-friendly Peter Pan adaptations, it was refreshing to read this novel. I loved the cruelness/childlike nature of Peter himself, as well as the interactions between him, the pirates, and the lost boys. It has its rightful place as being a classic, and is an excellent and quick read.
    • 4/5
      Really, it's about Wendy growing up.
    • 5/5
      I have reenacted the story of Peter Pan, in the staring role myself, countless times throughout my childhood. The story of Neverland and the lost boys, the pirates, it all has fascinated me for a very long time. Last Christmas my husband got me tickets to see a reinterpretation of the play and it was the two of us, and two hundred children at the Arden Theater in Philadelphia. It’s a deep and abiding love I have for these characters, and their creator, J. M. Barrie.

      J. M. Barrie wrote Peter Pan, I am convinced, with the primary purpose of it being read aloud to children. Often times he address the reader and his prose affects that of a parent telling a tale that is well known and well recited. There are times when it goes on a bit too long – as when the children are first flying to Neverland – and there are words and turns of phrase that one would never find in a book published in the 21st century. However, as such is also offers a wonderful teaching point for small children (I refer here to the terms used for Tiger Lily and her community) as to not only how we address different groups of people, but also how language and society change over time.

      For being more than a century old, Peter’s tale is still one of childhood adventure and, most importantly in this, the technology age, of using your imagination. Children should have the opportunity to play act, to feel wild and free in the great outdoors, to be able to fall down and skin their knees without adults hovering over them waiting for the first sign of stress or a tear. Peter Pan embraces all that makes childhood exciting, and for that reason, and so many more, it is the perfect book for children of all ages.
    • 3/5
      Summary: Short punchy adventure story for kids and adults who want to remember what it was like to be a kid.

      Things I liked:

      * Perspective: I really loved the way he was able to really nail the way some kids look at the world (or at least it reminded me of how I used to see the world when I was a kid).

      * The narrators voice. The charming English professor style reminded me of books like Narnia and The Once and Future King.

      * The dark undertones: I definitely felt the author trying to share a few things outside of a kids adventure story, it made me glad to be reading a book versus watching a movie.


      Things I didn't like:

      * The perspective changed quite a bit quite quickly (made it a little hard to follow sometimes).

      * Some of the characters felt a little boxed up. You got given a character portrait versus the opportunity to find out about the character from their words and actions (made it a little bit more like a comic book or a fairy tale then a novel.

      Highlight: The end with Wendy and her daughter. The cumulation of the novel made me sad and happy. I think sticking to the character of Pan versus taking the easy option of having everyone live happily ever after was bold and effective choice. I loved the bitter-sweet feeling it left me with. . I remember about two pages into the book I had a great tingly feeling that made me already glad I was reading a book versus watching a disney movie.
    • 2/5
      This is surely going to be an unpopular opinion and likely to give me some hate, but I didn't like this one much. Some social commentary, some 19th/early 20th-century racism, some platitudes, a crude story and a lot of wound up nonsense.3* for some thoughts and the literary and cultural merit it seems to have earned only.Edit: I've got to lower its rating down to 2*. The book is far too boring and not ok for me to get a neutral rating. 
    • 4/5
      Of course, I'd seen the Disney version many times before reading the original. I'd also read the delightfully adventurous Peter Pan and the Starcatchers series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. No surprise that the original from 1911 was quite different from either - especially in the character of Peter Pan himself. In the original he is portrayed as much younger, more naive, selfish, and unable to focus on anything of import for more than a few minutes... just like a five or six year old child generally is. Wendy's portrayal seems slightly misogynistic by today's standards, as even in Neverland, she seems happy to stay home darning the boys socks while they go off on adventures. And the racist portrayals of the "redskins" is atrocious. Nonetheless, I was surprised to find a few tears slipping down my cheeks as I read the last couple of chapters. The book is, after all, about both the joys and the tragedy of growing up, and losing the magic of childhood.
    • 2/5
      Meh. This barely gets 2 stars--only for the gleefully inappropriate content like the mention of fairie orgies that wouldn't fly in today's kids lit. But the racism and sexism. Woof.
    • 2/5
      Peter is a terrible child. Wendy is forced into heteronormative mommyhood. First Peoples are made into racial stereotypes (time context obviously, BUT STILL). Basically, this is all the things I don't like packaged into a "children's book." It seriously lacked Christopher Walken's drunken acting, which added some needed hilarity to the 2014 live production.
    • 3/5
      I wanted to like this more because Tinkerbell is my favorite Disney character, but this story was just okay. Tinkerbell was the selfish witch that I love, so she withstood the test of time. My favorite characters were the pirates because they were supposed to be unlikeable. The rest were mostly just annoying. I think the story fell victim to the time period in which it was written. I'm glad I read it, but I doubt I'd read it again.
    • 4/5
      Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie was originally a play written in 1904 that the author adapted to novel-form in 1911. It is truly a children’s classic with the play still being performed, the book read and the movies made about Peter Pan still being watched. This is a children’s adventure story that encourages children to dream and use their imagination. The author included pirates, Indians, mermaids and fairies in the story as well as an endearing group of lost boys that Wendy looks after when she arrives in Neverland.This original story enchants with it’s magical plot and rich descriptive writing. There is also a dark undertone to this story of a little boy who never wants to grow up and tries to keep Wendy and the others from growing up as well. The idea of one’s children being stolen away is not a happy one, but I don’t believe most children understand the pain that this causes the parents. The fact that Peter continued to visit Wendy until she was an adult and then turned his attention on her daughter was quite creepy to me.I wasn’t sure if I had read this book before, but once I got into the story, I am convinced that it was read to me when I was young. This is a much darker story than the Walt Disney version but certainly deserves its place on the shelf of children’s beloved literature.
    • 3/5
      I thought this was going to be a fun and cute read. It wasn't. This was more dark and creepy that I suspected.
      Still a good world, that's why is 3 stars.
    • 3/5
      I have found now that I am older I usually don't enjoy most middle grade books. It was interesting to see the difference between this and the Disney version but it just wasn't one that I couldn't put down. I found myself skimming through and just wanted to get it finished. They just don't hold my attention.
    • 3/5
      Not what I expected, was more weird than the Disney version.
    • 4/5
      Good Fun in an Updated AdaptationReview of the Audible Original audiobook (Dec. 2019) adapted & dramatized by Paul Magrs from the original play "Peter Pan" (1904) and the novels "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens" (1906) and "Peter and Wendy" (1911) by J.M. Barrie.Paul Magrs adaptation updates the standard Peter Pan story from early in the 20th century to a time during the Blitz in World War II. I'm not quite sure what purpose that serves except that it makes for a better excuse for the children to want to escape from their real-life world? The other main change is that the canonical Indian tribe of the J.M. Barrie original has been PC converted to a "Lost Girls" tribe with Princess Tiger Lily intact, although they still beat on tom tom drums. There was also a bit of mild cussing that I'm sure was not present in the originals. Was that actually Wendy saying to Captain Hook to "stick it up his bum"?Slight shock elements aside, this was a lot of fun. The outstanding performances were definitely from Rubert Everett as Captain Hook and Adeel Akhtar as Smee, who were gleefully over the top in their roles. Peter Pan was one of the free Audible Originals for members in December 2019. It is available to everyone for a standard price.