Peter And The Starcatchers (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
This story, Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, is the first book of the Peter and the Starcatchers series. In this teenage version of Peter Pan, orphaned Peter and 4 other orphan boys (James, Prentiss, Thomas, and Tubby Ted) set out on a journey from the dusty streets London across the ocean to a distant land called Rundoon, aboard a ship called the NeverLand. Once aboard, Peter and his friends have only one future ahead- becoming slaves for the king of Rundoon, His Royal Highness King Zarboff the Third. But one day, Peter learns about a mysterious trunk, and being curious, sneaks along the deck at night with a sailor called Alf, into the place where the trunk was kept. There, a girl called Molly tries to stop him from getting to the trunk. He had met Molly the first day aboard the ship, and knew that if she said she was going to do something, she meant it. But then, after posing a threat to Peter, Molly shows him what is inside the trunk: the legendary Starstuff. Molly flicks open the locket that hangs around her neck, and a golden glow fills the air. Molly demonstrates what she can do: hovering in the air, just a few feet above the deck of the NeverLand. Slowly, very slowly, the Starstuff wears off and Molly floats back down to earth.Meanwhile, the most feared pirate in the world, Black Stache, and idiot Smee, and the rest of the pirate crew aboard the Sea Devil are hunting the Wasp, the fastest ship that has ever sailed. Aboard that ship is Molly’s father Lord Leonard Aster, senior Starcatcher. Lord Aster is in danger, and Stache is after a black trunk with the most powerful element on earth inside it- Starstuff.Molly and Peter are warned of the Pirate by a porpoise named Ammm. But will they save Lord Aster in time? Will they be able to get hold of the Starstuff without being killed by it? And hardest of all- will they be able to warn everyone about the pirates and escape the jaws of Mr Grin, a feared crocodile who is the Savages‘ weapon on the island where they are washed ahore? Later on in thier journey, the Neverland is shipwrecked on a small tropical island called Mollusk Island. Only a tribe of 'savages' lives there, along with an oversized crocodile named Mister Grin. The Mollusks do not approve of outsiders, but they eventually learn to befreind Peter. Due to the arrival of the Starstuff trunk on the island, Mollusk island changes. The Starstuff leaks into the waters around the island, causing fish to become mermaids.Black Stache is also shipwrecked on the island in the same storm as the NeverLand after he captures Lord Aster and the 'Wasp'.Once on the island, Peter, with Molly, must find a way to stop Black Stache and the Pirates from getting hold of the Starstuff. If they fail, Black Stache will have the power to exterminate the Mollusk tribe, and kill everyone else on the island.One of my favourite scenes, which repeats itself through the book, is when Smee does something stupid again, (like tripping over a fort, or by doing the opposite of what Stache says). This is how one of the scenes would be like.(Smee trips over the fort.) Stache says "Smee, you are a supreme IDJIT!" (which is an extremely funny way to say blithering idiot in pirate language)"Yes, Cap'n. I mean, no Cap'n. I mean-""Smee.""Yes Cap'n?""Shut up.""Yes Cap'n."Another one of my favourite scenes is when Molly tries to talk porpoise to Ammm. She is not very skilled in speaking porpoise, and when she tries to say hello, or communicate, she can only manage “my teeth are green”. Ammm’s reaction to this is very funny, as he first looks very puzzled, but then politely says “your teeth are green.” It is a very interesting scene, which is why I like it. It can also appear to be a bit confusing!I gave this book five stars because it is very well written. I have always liked the story of Peter Pan, but this story actually explains how Peter became a flyer, how he always stays young, and all of the adventures he has with Molly before Wendy enters the scene.
This book is horrible.(Full disclosure: once upon a time, I thought Dave Barry was funny -- in the 80's -- so not a total hater.)But I'm a huge J.M. Barrie fan (or Johnny Depp-as-J.M. Barrie).p.s. I read it -- b/c I heard on comingsoon: they're going to make it into a movie.Read the real Peter Pan alongside it -- I was doing that -- and you'll feel totally insulted.The original...We've all seen the Disney cartoon (and the legend is so big), so we think we know it. But no. It's so well-written. Every single line is funny, practically.And he sticks in some side-commentary, for example...Fantastic.(The 2003 live action Pan is pretty great -- also b/c it's close to the book. So, I mean: better than Disney.)Anyhow: the book is horrible. And a terrible affront to the memory and real thing.Peter & the Starcatchers not funny at all. I would say: "Like they're not even trying...but they are a tiny bit, and it doesn't work."The plot is really small and frail. Could sum it up in one paragraph: a treasure chest full of fairy dust. The bad guys try to steal it. (The good guys try to stop them. It's a race.) Peter gets some, and it makes him fly.And it's so formulaic -- like, they have a list. "Okay. What do we need in there, to make it look like a Peter Pan book ?A boy named Peter: check.Someone who ends up being Hook: check."Let's call him Black Stache. That's a stupid name." Check.Smittee, some fairy dust, alligator, mermaids, flying...Anyhow, I'm really angry. It's one of the saddest things I've ever read. A rip-off and a cheap knock-off, forgery / travesty... Really just an insult to one of the greatest stories ever.And so now Disney is turning it into a movie.Here's the thing, too: I, personally, would love to see the further adventures of Peter Pan -- if someone could write them well, make them interesting.Be true to the original (even the side-commentary, I think)...Of course, have some of the old elements -- but have some new stuff, too, that's cool and interesting. Fun.The new stuff here: talking porpoises. Horrible. Really -- like "Worst.Book.Ever."(I wanted to put zero stars. But I had to put one, so they knew I registered.)p.s. Final thought: I think I'm going to write my own further adventures of Peter Pan, someday.Just to prove it can be done: better. If something's worth doing, it's worth doing right. Already started brainstorming.
What do You think about Peter And The Starcatchers (2006)?
This was a really cute story. It's a prequel to Peter Pan that starts at the very beginning...before Wendy, before Never Land, and when Captain Hook had no hook. I had tried reading this book a couple times, but could never get past chapter 5 or so. It was just a bit too slow...However, my mom-in-law lent me these books forever ago, and I felt I needed to read them and return them. :) So that's what I did!It still took me awhile to get into this book. The main problem (and reason I gave it 3 sta
—Morgan
Pulitzer Prize winning humorist Dave Barry, best selling mystery writer Ridley Pearson, and illustrator Greg Call have combined their talents to create a series of prequels to the J.M. Barrie classic Peter Pan. This is the first of those stories.Let me start my little review by saying that this book is so fun, exciting, and enjoyable that I have completely forgotten (almost) the creepy feeling I felt as a 42 year old man wandering around the children's section of the library looking for it.Yes it's a children's book, make fun of me if you want, but it's not like I was breathlessly turning the pages to find out what would happen if Grover encountered a monster at the end of the book. At over 450 pages it follows the trend set by the Harry Potter books.... The story is equally satisfying for both kids and adults that grew up with these legendary characters, and thick enough that kids can do serious damage to the child predators that lurking around every corner (at least according to NBC's "Dateline"). The type is a little larger for the younger readers, but not so big that adults will be embarrassed.Have you ever wondered...How an orphan from England learned to fly, never grow old, make his home on a deserted island, and become everybody's favorite peanut butter pitchman?How the most feared ambidextrous pirate on the high seas became the infamous embodiment of one handed evil (second only to the drummer for Def Leppard).How that annoying little fairy wound up living on Neverland? I mean Tinkerbell, not Michael Jackson.All these questions are answered, and more.Seriously, this is an excellent book, and I will definitely be slinking my way back to that room in the library with the little tables and chairs so that I can continue following the adventures of Peter and his cohorts.
—Billy
Sync audio free download week of July 3, 2014. About 2.0 stars to 2.5 stars. Probably a better entertainment value for younger readers, Peter and the Starcatchers was a bit of a disappointment for me. I don't mind retellings, but this one just annoyed me a tad. It could be the narrator's voice - he was OK for most of the story, however he did do some truly cringe-worthy voices for some of the characters and I guess that put me off. In any case, this is a retelling of Peter Pan and goes back to the days before Peter became Peter Pan. Captain Hook is Black Stashe, the meanest, ornery-est, most feared pirate of the seas. Smee is there as are some of the other characters, like the lost boys. No Wendy, unless I missed her somewhere. The giant croc is in this one too. I don't know, I just expected a little more from Dave Barry.
—AH
