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Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry
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Peter and the Starcatchers

by Dave Barry

Series: Starcatchers Trilogy (1)

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Showing 1-5 of 56 (next | show all)
I've never been hugely enamored of the Peter Pan legend, but this prequel is fairly charming. Peter and his friends are orphans put on a ship to be sent to be slaves for a foreign monarch. On board is a strange trunk sought after by good guys and bad guys alike, including the rather familiar pirate Black Stache. In short, this is a children's book. It was okay to read as an adult, but I would have enjoyed it far more twenty years ago.(Amusing aside: when I first wrote this I listed the authors as Dave Barry and Ridley Scott. Methinks that would have made for a very different story.) ( )
  melydia | Oct 28, 2009 |
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

It's always interesting, at least to me, to read a book that is the retelling of a beloved childhood tale. Whether it be a retold fairy tale such as SNOW WHITE or SLEEPING BEAUTY, or a classic such as PETER PAN, these new spins on old stories usually fall into one of two categories--terribly bad remakes, or truly amazing, imaginative stories with new twists. Thankfully, authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have turned PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS into the latter.

In this rendering, Peter is an orphan about the ship Never Land. He's become the leader of sorts to the other young orphans who have been sold into slavery to King Zarboff the Third, evil ruler of Rundoon. Not long after Peter and his boys board the boat, he meets Molly Aster. The fourteen-year old daughter of the new Ambassador of Rundoon is unlike any other girl Peter has ever met. Actually, the only other girl he remembers seeing in a very long time was the daughter of the Headmaster of St. Norbert's Home for Wayward Boys.

Peter's increasing infatuation with Molly is challenged when she lets him in on a secret--she is an apprentice Starcatcher, one who guards the magical starstuff from the Others who would use it to do harm. Starstuff is magic that, when it falls to Earth, it brings about increased intelligence, happiness, and even the ability to fly. Although Peter is, at first, quite skeptical of Molly and her Starcatcher business, he soon learns that she's being nothing but truthful.

Add to the story the dreaded Pirate Black Stache and the evil pirate crew of the ship the Sea Devil, and you have an interesting story. Throw in the a shipwreck, a missing cargo of starstuff, mermaids, a flying crocodile, and island dwellers that just may be cannibals, and the story goes from interesting to amazing. This is a remarkable retelling, or possibly even a prequel, to the well known story of PETER PAN. Kudos to both Mr. Barry and Mr. Pearson for a highly entertaining and thoroughly engrossing read! ( )
  GeniusJen | Oct 12, 2009 |
Peter and the Starcatcher's is kind of like a prequel to the story of Peter Pan. Peter and his friend's are taken from their orphange and are told that they are going to be shipped to become the servants of King Zarboff. They board their ugly old ship called the Neverland and find a girl named Molly and a chest filled with a glowing substance called starstuff. Starstuff is a very volatile substance that mutates anything it touches. It allows powers like flight, healing, and evolves animals. The ship becomes immersed in a battle with pirates lead by the Black Stache and crashes on a nearby island. The story is filled with loads of action and adventure and is an intersting read for people of all ages. ( )
  Shadowz112 | Sep 13, 2009 |
Book I
  pharrm | Aug 30, 2009 |
This book is an interesting creation of the origin of Peter Pan and how he became enemies with the well known Captain Hook. This adventure is a whimsical tale that carries the reader on the sea to a strang eisland where even stranger things begin to happen. For anyone who grew up with Peter Pan, this book is a must read. ( )
  hcaputi | Jul 15, 2009 |
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Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
To Storey, Rob, and Sophie; Marcelle and Michelle; and of course, Paige, whose idea this was.
First words
The tired old carriage, pulled by two tired old horses, rumbled onto the wharf, it's creaky wheels bumpety-bumping on the uneven planks, waking Peter from his restless slumber.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Canonical titlePeter and the Starcatchers
Original publication date2004
SeriesStarcatchers Trilogy (1)
People/CharactersPeter Pan, Molly Astor, Black Stache, Fighting Prawn
Important placesLondon, England, UK, Mollusk Island, Neverland
Awards and honorsSEBA Book Award (Children's, 2005), Book Sense Book of the Year (2005.3 | Children's Literature Honor Book, 2005)
DedicationTo Storey, Rob, and Sophie; Marcelle and Michelle; and of course, Paige, whose idea this was.
First wordsThe tired old carriage, pulled by two tired old horses, rumbled onto the wharf, it's creaky wheels bumpety-bumping on the uneven planks, waking Peter from his restless slumber.
Last words(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Book description

Amazon.com (ISBN 0786854456, Hardcover)

Humorist Dave Barry and suspense writer Ridley Pearson have clearly taken great delight in writing a 400-plus page prequel of sorts to Scottish dramatist J.M. Barrie's beloved Peter Pan stories. The result is a fast-paced and fluffy pirate adventure, complete with talking porpoises, stinky rogues, possible cannibals, a flying crocodile, biting mermaids, and a much-sought-after trunk full of magical glowing green "starstuff." Ever hear of Zeus? Michelangelo? Attila the Hun? According to 14-year-old Molly Aster they all derived their powers from starstuff that occasionally falls to Earth from the heavens. On Earth, it is the Starcatchers' job to rush to the scene and collect the starstuff before it falls into the hands of the Others who use its myriad powers for evil.

On board the ship Never Land, an orange-haired boy named Peter, the leader of a group of orphaned boys being sent off to work as servants in King Zarboff the Third's court, is puzzled by his shipmate Molly's fantastical story of starstuff, but it inextricably binds him to her. Peter vows to help his new, very pretty friend Molly (a Starcatcher's apprentice) keep a mysterious trunk full of the stuff out of the clutches of the pirate Black Stache, a host of other interested parties, and ultimately King Zarboff the Third.

The downright goofy, modern 8-year-old boy humor sometimes clashes with an old-time pirate sensibility, and the rapid-fire dialogue, while well paced, is far from inventive. Still, the high-seas hijinks and desert-island shenanigans will keep readers turning the pages. Greg Call's wonderful black-and-white illustrations are deliciously old-fashioned and add plenty of atmosphere to a silly, swashbuckling story that shows us how Peter Pan came to fly and why he, and his story, will never get old. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:54 -0400)

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