Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's first foray into kid-lit borrows Peter Pan and creates this story that happened before the events of James Barrie's classic. Here, Peter and some other orphans find themselves aboard the ship Never Land along with some mysterious cargo and a girl named Molly. In hot pursuit is the notorious pirate Black Stache. I read this aloud over many weeks to my kids. They were all ears and Luke (age 7) especially enjoyed it. There's a bit of humor sprinkled throughout and many thrilling adventures. The action is fairly tame although sometimes too intense for Kajsa (age 4). This book was popular enough to spawn three sequels to date. We'll see if there's interest in reading the next. But the next read-aloud book may be something different. ( )

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.) ( )

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! ( )

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. ( )

Book I

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. ( )

Peter and the Starcatchers takes a fresh look at the classic story of Peter Pan. Peter, along with a group of orphans, are loaded onto a pathetic old boat called the Never Land, crewed by and even more pathetic group of sailors...all except a rough talking sailor named Slank. Also on this boat is a pretty young lady named Molly, accompanied by her governess. It turns out another ship is to sail with the Never Land; the Wasp, a new ship built to outrun the ship of the notorious pirate Black Stasch. Molly's father is on the Wasp. But the Never Land has some special cargo; a trunk that causes unusual but pleasant things to happen to those who touch it. Deprived of decent food while on the boat, Peter is forced to forage the ship for something to eat. While hunting for food, Peter stumbles upon the trunk and...a flying rat! Almost discovered by a crew member, Peter suddenly finds himself with Molly, who through the course of several conversations explains that the trunk contains a substance called starsuff that is the culprit for most of the wars and other troubles in the world. Molly explains that she is part of an order call 'Starcatchers' who help to round up the star stuff as it falls to Earth and keep it out of the hands of the 'Others', those who would abuse the power that come with starstuff. Peter is amazed to see that with the aid of the starstuff, Molly can fly!

The conflict of the story centers around Molly and Peter (with the help of a friendly porpoise with whom Molly converses) working to keep the starstuff out of the hands of the dreaded Captain Black Stasch and his men, as well as the greedy clutches of Slank, who is part of the 'others'. All end up on a beautiful jungle island after a brutal storm, where they clash with the local natives who want to feed them to Mister Grin, a gigantic crocodile. In the end, as we would expect, Peter save the day with the help of some new friends, the mermaids.

When all is resolved it becomes clear how the tale of Peter Pan came to be and all relationships and conflicts for future encounters between characters such as Peter and Captain 'Hook' are firmly established. All in all, Peter and Starcatches is a terrific story full of vivid descriptions, exciting twists in action, and ideas that will tug at your heart and get you thinking. ( )

An engaging story of how Peter became the legendary "Peter Pan." Full of action, humor, and high sea adventure.

An exciting story about the life of Peter Pan, before he gets to Never Land. A very suspenseful story line that moves quickly and keeps the read interested and wanting more. A perfect mixture of fantasy and reality. I loved how the setting changed with each chapter to keep the reader wondering what was coming next. If I were to use this book in my class, it would most likely be as a read aloud.

A prequel to the Peter Pan story, that explains how Peter and the lost boys got to Never Land and the struggles they faced trying to protect the world from the powerful starstuff.

As a lover of the original Peter Pan, I found this "prequel" to be both clever and fascinating. ( )

How does peter pan fly? How did Captain Hook lose his arm? These questions and more can be answered in this book. This is really an excellent book for a read aloud - and at many grade levels. I enjoyed it so much I read the next 2 in the series!

I was surprised by Peter and the Starcatchers; before this book I was primarily familiar with Dave Barry through his satirical newspaper columns. The book was absolutely wonderful. The mythology of Peter Pan was not laid out in obvious ways, but fans of Peter will be able to see any number of familiar elements from his story throughout the book. It was a highly accessible read, and one that could be enjoyed just as easily by parents and other adults as by the children it was written for. ( )

Not exceptionally well-written but good and fast-paced. Funny and enjoyable. Peter was a very dynamic character. Actually, all the characters were well-done. The action moved at a nice pace. My only disappointment is that it took so long to get to the mythology of Peter. I mean, we know the whole time that this is the story of Peter Pan before he became Peter Pan, so why wait until the last 20 pages or so to make him the character we all know? Nonetheless, I will definitely be reading the sequels. I hope they are as enjoyable. ( )

I really enjoyed this story of how a young orphan boy named Peter learned to fly and never grew old. This story is full of adventure and excitement that makes you want to keep reading all the way to the end.

A great idea for a book, and the author pulled it off! It was a quick read for me, but a pretty good book anyway. ( )

Breezy fun children's story. ( )

Book number 1 in a series ( )

Excellent story for all ages. ( )

Summary: Peter's notorious reputation begins on a voyage to a kingdom he's never heard of and he won't make it to.

The Take Away: Peter begins the story as an orphan, albeit a rather normal existence for one in the 1800s in London.
It's really Molly, the daughter of a star catcher, combined with Peter's own curiosity that transforms him into the mischievous flying boy we know today.
Peter isn't the only orphan on the ship; several of his mates are too. When Peter ventures out of their cabin in search of food that doesn't wiggle, his inclination for trouble shows up. Molly is part of a dangerous plat, but on the good guys' side.
It was a wonderful to see how much care the authors took with the legendary boy. The background/backstory they created is so seamless it could have been written by Barre himself. ( )

I enjoyed Barry and Pearson's exploration into how Peter Pan became Peter Pan. There were times when the story moved a little slowly, but any kid will enjoy this read: pirates, ships, flying crocodiles, savages, mermaids. It's all there. I recommend it as a good bedtime story. ( )

the best book ever ( )

Love how canon it is to the original story. Great authors and great story line : ) ( )

This is the story of how Peter Pan came to be. It is the amazing story of Peter and his friends and their adventures with pirates, the "others" and merpeople. The relationship that Peter and Molly have is beautiful. ( )

Peter and the Starcatchers tells you about the beginning of the well-known story, Peter Pan, so it is a prequal to the story. It's brilliant and well written. My friend said it was really good and it took me a while before I chose it. But I'm glad I did. It was really hard to put down. It never gets boring and it's now my favorite book!! Peter and the Starcatchers was a great book and if you like Fantasy, this is the book to read. ( )