Peter Pan and Wendy by J M Barrie and Robert Ingpen
| Peter Pan and Wendy by J M Barrie and Robert Ingpen | |
|
| |
| Category: For Sharing | |
| |
Reviewer: Sue Magee
 | |
| Summary: A well-illustrated and sensitively abridged version of an enduring children's classic. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 64 | Date: October 2017 |
| Publisher: Palazzo | |
| ISBN: 978-1786750853 | |
|
Share on: | |
|
| |
It's a childhood staple - the story of Wendy, John and Michael Darling and their beloved nurse, Nana the Newfoundland dog who took them to school each day. It's George Darling, their father, who makes the mistake when he locks Nana in the yard and the children are whisked away to Neverland by Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. There's a wonderful mix of characters, from Peter Pan, the boy who never wants to grow up, Tinkerbell, the rather unpleasant fairy, Captain Hook, Tiger Lily, the lost boys and - of course - Wendy, but then it wouldn't have been a classic since the original stage production in 1904 and the novel of 1911 if it were otherwise.
I'll confess to an initial disappointment at the fact that this is an abridged version (by Juliet Stanley) of the book, but it has been done sympathetically and it's not something to be pedantic about. If the abridged version piques a child's interest and they go on to read the unabridged version, then so much the better - after all it was Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb which tempted me to read the original plays.
Abridged or unabridged, children's classics are going to live or die by the quality of the pictures and this edition has the benefit of copious illustrations by Robert Ingpen. There isn't a double-page spread which doesn't have at least one and sometimes two or three illustrations and they're all gloriously detailed and in a children's classic you need illustrations which you lose yourself in, which give something new each time you look. My personal favourite is the full-page portrait of Peter Pan dressed in skeleton leaves and the juices which ooze out of trees. If I had to be very picky I'd say that Ingpen doesn't quite capture Nana the Newfoundland dog.
I must mention too the quality of this edition by Palazzo: it's exceptional and with a very reasonable cover price of £12.99. It's a large-format clothbound hardback which will stand a great deal of loving and - I hope - eventually be passed on to another generation. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
For more illustrations from Robert Ingpen we can recommend The Wind in The Willows. We've also seen another version of Peter Pan and Wendy with illustrations by Shirley Hughes.
Please share on: 
Facebook, 
Twitter and
Instagram
You can read more book reviews or buy Peter Pan and Wendy by J M Barrie and Robert Ingpen at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Peter Pan and Wendy by J M Barrie and Robert Ingpen at Amazon.com.
