Peter Pan: Peter and Wendy and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

by J.M. Barrie and James Matthew Barrie

Book Overview

J.M. Barrie's classic tale of the "boy who would not grow up"

Peter Pan originally appeared as a baby living a magical life among birds and fairies in J.M. Barrie's sequence of stories, Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. His later role as flying boy hero was brought to the stage by Barrie in the beloved play Peter Pan, which opened in 1904 and became the novelPeter and Wendy in 1911. In a narrative filled with vivid characters, epic battles, pirates, fairies, and fantastic imagination, Peter Pan's adventures capture the spirit of childhood--and of rebellion against the role of adulthood in conventional society.

This edition includes the novel and the stories, as well as an introduction by eminent scholar Jack Zipes. Looking at the man behind Peter Pan and sifting through the psychological interpretations that have engaged many a critic, Zipes explores the larger cultural and literary contexts in which we should appreciate Barrie's enduring creation and shows why Peter Pan is a work not for children but for adults seeking to reconnect with their own imagination.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014243793X
• ISBN13: 9780142437933
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.3" x 7.2"
• Age Range: 8 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 6

Customer Reviews

Book: Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is beautifully illustrated by Arthur Rackham-and Peter's miserable story of being locked out of his mother's room (she had bars put on the window so that her new baby couldn't "fly away" as Peter did) made my eyes squirt tears as when I first read this book when I was a child. All of the stories are amusing. Barrie's English sense of humor has something for children and adults.

Where the story begins...

This is where the story of Peter Pan starts and it is a wonderful one at that. Maybe not as adventurous as the better known story of Peter Pan and maybe not really as focused as some may wish. It has a weird, twisted logic to it, as it darts and flies about. But that makes it all the more wonderful and magical. The drawings by Arthur Rackham add to the feelings of a story set in a world long ago and far away.

Delightful

This book continues the adventures of Peter Pan and is a very enjoyable read.

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Even though I do think that this is a great book , it is only half of an even greater. For those of you who don't know this book was just the middle few chapters of one of JM Barrie's books entitled "The Little White Bird". I would encourage people to buy that version instead of this because it includes the same text and more detailing story of a young boy quite in the same way like Peter Pan.

Pleasant tale of Pan at home...

Like most, I read "Peter and Wendy" (which many know simply as "Peter Pan," and was the basis for the Disney movie) before reading "Kensington Gardens." I completely enjoyed "Kensington," and loved getting to spend a little more time with Pan, getting to know his history and his friends in the garden.I would recommend "Peter and Wendy" be read before "Kensington Gardens," simply because "Peter and Wendy" will allow the reader to grow fond of the character, and "Kensington" will allow this further insight into his life.Either way, read 'em both. It's well worth it.