''Peter and the Starcatchers'' is a

children's novel Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

that was published by Hyperion Books, a subsidiary of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, in 2004. Written by Dave Barry and

Ridley Pearson Ridley Pearson (born March 13, 1953 in Glen Cove, New York) is an American author of suspense and thriller novels for adults, and adventure books for children. Some of his books have appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Literary ...

, and illustrated by Greg Call, the book is a reinterpretation of the character

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

, who first appeared in

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

's novel ''

Peter and Wendy ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' or ''Peter and Wendy'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous li ...

''. The book is followed by four sequels: ''

Peter and the Shadow Thieves ''Peter and the Shadow Thieves'' is a children's novel that was published by Hachette Books#Hyperion Books, Hyperion Books, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, in 2006. Written by humorist Dave Barry and novelist Ridley Pearson, the book i ...

'' (2006), ''

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon ''Peter and the Secret of Rundoon'' is a children's novel that was published by Hyperion Books, a subsidiary of Disney, in 2007. Written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, the book is an unauthorized reimagining of ''Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wo ...

'' (2007), '' Peter and the Sword of Mercy'' (2009), and '' The Bridge to Neverland'' (2011). A series of

Never Land Neverland is a fictional island featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, and some other imaginary beings and creatures live. Altho ...

chapter book A chapter book is a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10. Unlike picture books for beginning readers, a chapter book tells the story primarily through prose rather than pictures. Unlike books for advanced readers, ...

s for younger readers is based on the novels.

Plot summary

In 19th century London, orphaned boys Peter, James, Thomas, Prentiss, and Tubby Ted are shipped out on the decrepit ship ''Never Land''. While searching for food, Peter encounters a mysterious trunk and its guardian, Molly Aster, a girl about his age. Meanwhile, the feared pirate Black Stache hears of a similar trunk containing a great treasure on board another ship, the ''Wasp''. Black Stache manages to run down and board the ''Wasp'', and Leonard Aster, Molly's father, attempts and fails to escape with the trunk. Black Stache opens the trunk only to find it filled with sand. Black Stache and Aster realize that the trunk is a decoy and the actual treasure is on board the ''Never Land''. Aster jumps overboard and escapes. Molly confides to Peter that the trunk contains "starstuff," magical dust of extraordinary power that falls from the heavens. Molly's family is revealed to be members of a secret society known as the Starcatchers, who are tasked with keeping Starstuff out of the wrong hands. Molly enlists Peter to assist in throwing the trunk overboard before Black Stache arrives. Black Stache and his men race against a monster storm to intercept the ''Never Land''. Attempting to dispose of the trunk with Molly, Peter is thrown overboard just as the storm hits. Having come into contact with Starstuff from the trunk, Peter flies back and hurls the trunk overboard. Molly and the orphans escape the ''Never Land'' and wash up on a nearby island. All the children are captured by the local natives, known as the Mollusks, and their leader Fighting Prawn. The Mollusks decide to feed the children to Mister Grin, a large crocodile. Molly uses starstuff to help the group and Mister Grin to fly out of the enclosure. The trunk is found by the crew of the ''Never Land'' and its first mate, Slank. Slank reveals that he is in league with the Others, rivals of the Starcatchers who want the Starstuff for themselves. Aster and a group of Starcatchers soon arrive on the Island, accompanied by ships of the British Navy, and Aster deduces that Peter had a high tolerance to Starstuff and instantly stopped aging while retaining the ability to fly. The Mollusks and the pirates converge on the group, and a fight ensures, wherein Fighting Prawn is mortally wounded and Peter severs Black Stache's hand, which is eaten by Mister Grin. Peter uses the starstuff in Aster's locket to save Fighting Prawn, who spares the group, allows the Starcatchers to leave the island with the starstuff, and lets the orphans stay on the island. As Peter and Molly bid farewell to one another, Aster uses starstuff to turn a bird into a fairy, Tinker Bell, to watch over Peter. Peter promises to come to London in the near future to visit, and he and the boys begin to settle on the island. The story ends with Peter discovering a washed-up plank with the printed name of the ''Never Land'', which he decides to nickname the island.

Adaptations

In 2005,

hired

Jay Wolpert Jay Wolpert (January 29, 1942 – January 3, 2022) was an American television producer and screenwriter. Life and career Wolpert was born in The Bronx, New York City. His first television appearance came as a contestant on the original version o ...

to adapt the book to film, reportedly using

3D animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

. A play with music adaptation of the book debuted in winter 2009 at

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

as part of an arrangement with Disney Theatrical. It was re-staged Off-Broadway in 2011 and opened on Broadway on April 15, 2012 at the

Brooks Atkinson Theatre The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was designed by Herbert ...

. On May 17, 2012,

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

announced that a film version of the book would be written by Jesse Wigutow. On August 20, 2012, ''

The Hunger Games ''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set 6 ...

'' director

Gary Ross Gary Ross (born November 3, 1956) is an American film director, writer, and producer. He is best known for writing and directing the fantasy comedy-drama film '' Pleasantville'' (1998), the sports drama film '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), the sci-fi act ...

agreed to direct the movie. Filming was expected to begin in 2013. As of 2021, nothing else is known to have taken place.

References

External links

* {{Peter Pan Works based on Peter Pan 2004 American novels 2004 children's books 2004 fantasy novels American children's novels Novels by Dave Barry Collaborative novels Novels about orphans American novels adapted into plays Hyperion Books books