Peter Pan in scarlet

When I saw Peter Pan in scarlet touted as the "official sequel" I wondered what that presumption was based on. What makes any post-humous sequel official? J.M. Barrie clearly didn't select Geraldine McCaughrean to write this book. Just inside the book, all was made clear in a brief explanation.

In 1929, J.M. Barrie gave all rights to "Peter Pan" to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children. Every royalty penny earned from every copy or production of "Peter Pan" went to the hospital. In 2004, the hospital decided it was time for a sequel to this well-loved classic so they launched a contest soliciting plot outlines and sample chapters from authors around the world. McCaughrean was the winner and Peter Pan in scarlet is the resulting book. That made it one I had to read.

Peter Pan in scarlet is a playful book and very visual in its descriptions. The descriptions are not long and drawn out so young readers are not likely to skip over them, but the language is clear and evocative. The plot is new with the return of many familiar characters and the introduction of new ones. (Be warned, some "new" characters turn out to be familiar ones in disguise.) There's a lovely mix of magic, imagination, and dreaming and the lines between them are blurred leaving you wondering what is truly real. There are references to the first book but they are not so dependent that I felt I should have re-read the first book just before reading this one.

Despite all those wonderful qualities, I found this a rather dark and foreboding book. Much of the drama is psychological rather than swashbuckling. Neverland has been poisoned and the effects pervade the land, its inhabitants, and people outside its borders. The weight of that destruction coupled with the personal struggles of several characters clashes with the light and friendly writing style. We see bullying, social ostracism, poor leadership, and harsh, irrational decision-making all coming from a childhood hero. The resolution at the end doesn't erase those memories and I found myself feeling betrayed even after the book was finished.

If you're looking for a launchpad to initiate some difficult discussions with a child, this would be an excellent place to start. If you're looking for a light-hearted sequel to a treasured favourite, I would look elsewhere.

Peter Pan in scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean. Published in 2006 by Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-19-272620-9.

The tale of Despereaux

Kate DiCamillo, the author of "Because of Winn-Dixie" has another book soon to hit the silver screen and this one has a Newbery medal for children's fiction. "The tale of Despereaux" is told in an oral narrative style with the narrator speaking directly to the reader and adding her own commentary on events as they unfold. Although the phrase is over-used, "contemporary fairytale" certainly fits this book.

The title character is a free-thinking mouse who falls in love with a princess and ends up defending her against the schemes of a rat and an ambitious yet dim-witted servant girl. It's all set in a castle with the requisite dungeon full of moaning prisoners. The king is feeble-brained enough to ban soup throughout his land but he loves his daughter as only a doting father could.

Despite the stock characters and setting, DiCamillo comes up with a fresh light story with a lovely moral at the end. The charm is in the writing itself. The freshness comes from examining the internal battles that each of the major characters fights. We get a brief exploration of motivation and feelings behind the actions of good guys and bad guys. As a result, the line dividing the good guys from the bad guys gets blurred and we learn that mean actions don't necessarily indicate a wholeheartedly mean person. What a revelation!

Despite the moralizing, this book is primarily a story, not a sugar-coated lesson. It's definitely written for the younger set but it works as a bedtime story for adults as well. If you are a Roald Dahl fan, you should give this one a try.

"The tale of Despereaux" by Kate DiCamilla. Published in 2003 by Candlewick Press. ISBN: 978-0-7636-1722-6.