This seems to me to be a real Golden Age for children’s literature, really fueled by the whole Harry Potter thing. When I was growing up, my staples were The Hobbit and The Narnia Chronicles and whatever schlock Piers Anthony wrote. All books that hold a special place in my heart, no question. But every time I walk into Borders now, it seems like there’s another interesting book for kids or young adults: Eragon or Abarat or the Lemony Snicket books or, of course, Harry Potter. What it’s done for me is to create a whole new category of book that I read (in addition to history, other non-fiction, or, generally, novels): page turners aimed at kids — I find them super-enjoyable, and handy when you’re stuck in something that’s harder to read — it’s easy to pick these up and read them in a weekend — sometimes all that I need to get kick started in my reading again.
Anyway, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have written this book which is a putative prequel to the Peter Pan saga — chronicles how Peter learned to fly, how Never Never Land came to be magical (and called that), how the crocodile started ticking, and how Captain Hook lost his hand. Not fantastic writing, but sort of fun to read. Also probably another one to borrow from me instead of buying.
