Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

Under no circumstances will I ever read this "children's classic" to my grand children unless I want to drive them into deep despair. Children forever separated from their parents, some by early death, some by other circumstances, feature prominently in this story of Peter Pan's beginnings and sets a dark tone which overrides scenes of whimsy and imagination.

On the other hand, Calla Editions' pleasantly crafted volume of "Peter Pan In Kengsinton Gardens" is worth keeping for the beauty of its presentation, especially for the illustrations that are those of the original artist and king of Edwardian children's illustrations, Arthur Rackham. For Rackham fans, it is a must have.

I just listened to the recording from Librivox, and it tore me up! It's especially sad when you know about the author's older brother who died when he was very young. Talk about survivor guilt. J. M. Barrie wrote himself into the story as the new baby who supplanted Peter, the reason his mother finally shut the window, which kept Peter from coming back! 😓😢😭

W...T...H? Parts of it made very interesting set-ups for the canon of Peter Pan, but parts of it were definitely not appropriate for children; the last chapter deals greatly with children dying (falling out of their prams, being left to starve/freeze in the gardens, etc.) and Peter burying their dead bodies. It also mentions the "bad fairies" slaughtering children that get discovered in the gardens after closing time. This, to me, is the reason that you can't just /trust/ that a children's book is appropriate for its intended audience (this and the original Little Mermaid).

Where did Peter Pan come from and how did he learn to fly? This story is a delightful collaboration between Barrie and his young friend. Though it has much of the uncomfortable observation about the mother-son relationship found in Peter and Wendy, it does not have the noble savages or other stereotypes found in the latter book.

This was written after Peter Pan but is a prequel. There is lots of information and anecdotes about Kensington Gardens in London as well as the story of Peter Pan and how he came to be the boy who never grew up. There is a story about how prospective parents ask the birds for a child and that is why children think they can fly as they were born as baby birds.

Not all of the stories feature Peter Pan, the first half is a series of short tales about the different sights in the gardens and some of the children who have visited. It also talks about Barrie’s visits with the children to the gardens and I am ashamed to admit that while I have been living by London for nearly 10 years I still haven’t been to the gardens. I really must go and show more see if the monuments and sights have changed much since Barrie’s time.

This was beautifully illustrated by Arthur Rackham with over 50 full colour illustrations plus many pen drawings and this was how I found the book even existed. It was funny, sweet and makes a lovely collection to anyone’s library. show less

This is the original short story from which all Barrie's later Peter Pan stories sprang. It is Peter's 'origin' story, beginning with his flying to Kensington Gardens when still a baby.

There are several disturbing moments in the narrative, and not just for Freudians -- I'll say no more.

Recommended if you have a basic interest in either Barrie or the Peter Pan stories.

From the intro:
Never, in the history of children's literature, has there been a more enchanted combination than Arthur Rackham and Peter Pan.
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I read the story over 2 decades ago when I thought I'd start with the Peter Pan story from the top but I didn't enjoy this story.

Here in 2019, I re-found the book to look at the illustrations. Many full page illustrations by the master but unfortunately the tones are more muted than they should be. Perhaps this version's printing hasn't held up well.

{novelette}