Peter and the Starcatchers
[rating:4/5]
Awards: A.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2005 YALSA Selection 2005 Audie Award.
Author: Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson.
Narrator: Jim Dale.
Category: Children Ages 10+.
Publisher: Brilliance Audio.
Release Date: 2008.
Length: 8 Hours and 39 Mins.
Unabridged.
An Overview:
Peter and the Starcatchers is a journey through Never Land in the days before Peter Pan was the leader of the Lost Boys.
Main Body:
If you always loved Peter Pan as a kid and would like to take a little different look at the life of Pan, Peter and the Starcatchers may be the book you want to delve into. Peter and the Starcatchers is a prequel to the Peter Pan book you know from your childhood, but is still packed with the pirates, mermaids and crocodiles you expect in Peter Pan along with some other characters like cannibals and odd green ‘starstuff’ that gives gods, heroes and villains their powers.
As a matter of fact, the starstuff is a big portion of this story, as the Starcatchers mentioned in the title have the job of watching for the starstuff to fall from the sky and to run and collect it. The hope is by catching it they will keep it from falling into the hands of those who would do evil. So, you may be wondering how Peter plays into this book? Well, you will meet him as a boy who has been loaded on a ship to go work.
He is an orphan and was sent to be a servant for the king. This is where he hears about the Starcatchers and starstuff from Molly, another child on the ship. She happens to be a Starcatcher apprentice and is trying to keep starstuff out of bad hands. Peter is going to lend her a helping hand in this endeavor. This is just the beginning of what is to be a wild adventure through Never Land.
This book is a fun adventure, but does periodically touch on adult content. If you are very careful about what your children read or listen to and you want them to listen to this with you, you may want to listen ahead first. Many of the ‘adult’ content scenes are worded in such a way that children may mot understand the innuendo while adults will.
The Narration:
Jim Dale was the narrator for this book. He has a great British accent that sounds like it came right out of a Dickens’s novel or other fairy tale. His voice as a perfect fit for this book.
Audiobook reviewed by Michelle Murillo.
Resources:
wikipedia: Peter and the Starcatchers
