Peter Pan books

Peter Pan and related characters have appeared on the printed page in prose and comics form many times over the past century-plus.

Vintage
During J. M. Barrie's lifetime, a small publishing industry grew around Peter Pan. Although some were fairly blatant attempts to cash in on the popularity of the character, with illustrated, picture-book, and ABC versions for every age bracket under 18, they were all done with his personal permission.


 * The Little White Bird by Barrie (1902), a quasi-autobiographical meditation, including a fantasy section with the first appearance of Peter Pan as an infant playing with fairies in Kensington Garden.


 * Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens by Barrie, with illustrations by Arthur Rackham (1906), the Peter Pan chapters of The Little White Bird, repackaged with the star's name on the cover.


 * The Peter Pan Picture Book by illustrator Alice Woodward and Daniel O'Connor (1907, London), an adaptation of the original play, with watercolor illustrations.


 * The Peter Pan Alphabet by illustrator Oliver Herford (1907, New York), a merchandising tie-in to the original play, with a distinctly American angle to it.


 * Peter and Wendy by Barrie, with illustrations by F. D. Bedford (1911), the adaptation of the stage play into a novel.


 * Peter Pan's ABC illustrated by Flora White (1913), a possibly unauthorised alphabet book (Barrie's name doesn't appear in it).


 * The Peter Pan Alphabet Painting Book by an unknown illustrator (1914). An instructional exercise book, with black and white line drawings to be painted.


 * All About Peter Pan by Emma Gelders Sterne, with illustrations by Thelma Gooch (1924). Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens adapted for a children's book.


 * The Story of Peter Pan (1926), a very condensed version of the story with uncredited color illustrations.


 * Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by Barrie (1928), the script of the play, as revised over the 24 years since its debut.


 * The Picture Story Book of Peter Pan illustrated by Roy Best (1931).

Modern
Following Barrie's death, the play continued to be performed unabated, but with the author dead and the copyright secure, few new books were forthcoming, just reprints of those that already existed, sometimes with new illustrations. That changed in 1952, as Disney prepared their animated version of Peter and Wendy, along with their trademark juggernaut of media and merchandise tie-ins.


 * Golden Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, published three picture books:
 * Walt Disney's Peter Pan and Wendy, a Little Golden Book
 * Peter Pan and the Indians, a Little Golden Book
 * The Story Book of Peter Pan, a Big Golden Book


 * Disney has produced various comics adaptations of the story. Some of this material has been reprinted many times.  The original ones were published by Dell Comics:
 * Walt Disney's Peter Pan
 * Walt Disney's Captain Hook and Peter Pan 
 * Walt Disney's Peter Pan Treasure Chest

Disney published occasional new chapter books and further adaptations and lightweight stories featuring their versions of the characters in the decades that followed their first movie.

Post-Modern
As the original copyrights expired in various parts of the world, and creators who grew up with the Disney version began to look back on it with a sense of ownership or rebellion, parodies and revisionist interpretations began to emerge. Restored copyright status in the EU and the threat of litigation from GOSH and/or Disney kept some of it at bay or limited its distribution internationally.


 * Peter Pank by Spanish cartoonist "Max" (Francesc Capdevila) (1985-1990), an unauthorised comic reinterpretation for "adults only", published in three European-format albums: Peter Pank, El Licantropunk, and Pankdinista.


 * Peter Pan and the Only Children by Gilbert Adair (1987), an unauthorised sequel novel. This book is written and presented in a format similar to Peter and Wendy, with bound-in color illustrations by Jenny Thorne.


 * Neverland by Toby Forward (1989), an unauthorised sequel in which Peter Pan returns, finding the modern children Wendy, James, and Matthew Hacker. Published by Simon & Schuster when Peter Pan first entered the public domain in the UK, before the copyright was revived in 1995.


 * Peter Pan by French cartoonist Régis Loisel (1990-2004), an unauthorised prequel comic book. A bawdy, violent series of six albums (two of which won the Angoulême Audience Award), giving Peter Pan's back story a distinctly Dickensian flavor.  The original story was in the public domain in France when the first volume was released.


 * Peter Pan: Return to Never-Never Land by Ron Fortier and Gary Kato (1991), an unauthorised sequel. Peter brings two modern African-American boys to Never-Never Land, published by Malibu Comics under the Adventure Comics imprint, two issues later reprinted in a single volume.


 * Hook by Terry Brooks (1991), a novelization of the Steven Spielberg/Robin Williams film.


 * Hook by Charles Vess (1991), a graphic-novelization of the Steven Spielberg/Robin Williams film.


 * Grow Up, Peter Pan! by Alvin Granowsky (1993), an educational flip-book telling the story from both Hook's and Peter's POV.


 * 피터 판 (Peter Pan) illustrated by Michael Hunter (1995), a manhwa (comics) adaptation to teach English to Korean students.


 * The Lost by Marc Andreyko, Galen Showman, and Jay Geldhof (1997), an unauthorised sequel comic book. This urban horror-themed mini-series published by Caliber Comics and Chaos! Comics continues the story in present-day New York City, with Peter revealed as a vampire boy hustler who leads a small group of vampire boys.


 * "Lost Girls" by Jane Yolen (1997), a short story in Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast. The book also includes an Alice in Wonderland story.


 * Peter Pan and the Warlords of Oz by Rob Hand (1998), an unauthorised, irregular series of comics featuring Neverland characters crossing over with The Wizard of Oz, and Alice in Wonderland.


 * After the Rain, A New Adventure for Peter Pan by J. E. Somma (1999), an unauthorised sequel novel. Set in modern times, telling of Peter's reaction to a world that has grown to neglect him, and his rescue by three children who teach him that it's OK to grow up.


 * Neverland: the Early Adventures of Peter Pan by R. Scott Leatherwood (October 2001), an unauthorised children's story which attempted to answer seventeen questions about Peter's life before meeting the Darling children.


 * La Ligue des Héros by Xavier Mauméjean (2002) is an alternate-history novel in which the Neverland materializes in Kensington Gardens, and a league whose members include Lord Admiral Hook, Sherlock Holmes, and Tarzan, forms to fight the chaotic influence of Peter Pan, the fairies, etc.


 * Wendy by Karen Wallace (December 2003), an unauthorised prequel novel for young adults. An attempt to explain the Darling children's willingness to fly away with Peter on the grounds that their home life, up until shortly before Peter appeared, had been filled with abuse and tragedy: a cruel nanny, a criminally irresponsible father, and a suggestion of insanity in the family.


 * The Lost Girls: A Novel by Laurie Fox (January 2004), an unauthorised sequel novel. Follows the interaction of Peter Pan with each generation of Wendy Darling's female descendents, up to a distinctly 21st-century great-great-granddaughter.  Published by Simon and Schuster.


 * "Never Never" by Bruce Glassco (2004), a short story in The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm. The book also includes work by Tanith Lee, Neil Gaiman, Patricia McKillip, and Gregory Maguire.


 * ロストボーイズ (Lost Boys) by Kaname Itsuki (2004), an unauthorised one-volume manga adaptation, re-imagined as a yaoi (boys love) story, translated to English and published in 2006.

Post-Centennial
The 100th anniversary of the play revived more interest in it, and with the EU copyright restored but the clock running out, it was time to stop letting GOSH call the shots.


 * The Starcatchers series of books by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, a series of unauthorised prequel novels, published by Hyperion Books (a subsidiary of Disney) in the US and by Walker Books in the UK. The series began on a ship called Never Land featuring Peter and an earlier group of Lost Boys.
 * Peter and the Starcatchers (August 2004).
 * Peter and the Shadow Thieves (June 2006).
 * Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (October 2007).
 * Peter and the Sword of Mercy (October 2009).
 * The Bridge to Never Land (August 2011).


 * Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth by James V. Hart (co-writer of the movie Hook), Brett Helquist (ill.) (2005), an prequel illustrated novel, published by HarperCollins in the US. Details the history of 15-year old James Matthew, young Oppidan Scholar and future Captain Hook. The book portrays the villainous youth in a sympathetic light.


 * The Disney Fairies books by Gail Carson Levine, David Christiana (ill.), a series of spin-off illustrated novels for children. Part of the Disney Fairies franchise, published by Disney Press in the US and HarperCollins in the UK. Introduces a new cast of "Never Fairies", in addition to Tinker Bell. Additional chapter books in the series are intended for younger readers, and were written by various authors, focusing on the different characters invented by Levine.
 * Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg (2005).
 * Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand (July 2007).
 * Fairies and the Quest for Never Land (June 2010).


 * Lost Girls by Alan Moore and Melinda Gebbie (July 2006), an unauthorised reinterpretation graphic novel. A controversial use of Wendy Darling alongside Dorothy Gale from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1913, telling each other stories about their sexual experiences. In it, Peter and the Lost Boys are a handful of boys with whom Wendy and her brothers had sexual encounters in Kensington Gardens.


 * The "Never Land Books" by Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Greg Call (ill.), a series of unauthorised spin-off chapter books. Based on the continuity established by the "Starcatchers" novels, for a younger audience.
 * Escape from the Carnivale (August 2006).
 * Cave of the Dark Wind (July 2007).
 * Blood Tide (September 2008).


 * Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean (October 2006), the official sequel novel. Commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital following a competition launched in 2004, to give the hospital a new book with a fresh copyright.  It has been sold in 40 different editions in 37 languages. The book is published by Oxford University Press in the UK and Margaret K McElderry (Simon & Schuster) in the US.

Post-Copyright
In January 2008 the copyright finally lapsed for good in the EU, and now literally anyone can do anything with the characters.


 * Tigerheart by Peter David (2008), a novel retelling the Peter Pan stories from another character's perspective, referring to him as "the boy" throughout the novel, and referencing both Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and Peter and Wendy, with changes to many of the original characters.


 * Peter Pan's NeverWorld by Peter Von Brown (2008), an unauthorised sequel which aims for perfect continuity with Peter and Wendy, taking Peter – and his brother Michael – to their own magical planet.


 * Walt Disney's Peter Pan by Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, and Mary Blair (2009), a retelling of the Disney version, with new art.


 * The Child Thief by Brom (2009), a dark and twisted reinterpretation of the Peter Pan story.


 * Hook & Jill by Andrea Jones (2009), Book One of The Hook & Jill Saga, a serious parody of the Peter Pan story, for adults, in which Wendy and the Lost Boys are beginning to grow up, and Captain Hook still seeks revenge against Peter.


 * Muppet Peter Pan by Grace Randolph and Amy Mebberson (2009), a comics adaptation of the story featuring the Muppet characters "playing" the various parts.


 * Never After by Dan Elconin (2009), a sequel for teen readers, set in the present with zombies and penis jokes.


 * Peter Pan the Vampire by Gary Brantner (2009), a self-published comic book series.


 * Neverland by Joe Brusha (2009), a comics sequel in Zenescope's "Grimm Fairy Tales" line, in which Peter has grown up and turned evil, and old Hook is the only one who can stop him.


 * Dylan and the Dream Pirates by Jason Andrew (2010), an online-published novel about a boy whose magical adventures begin by meeting the Lost Boys.


 * Midnight in Never Land by Perry Bradford-Wilson and Michael Norris (2010), a dark fantasy novel proposing an alternate origin for the characters.


 * Wendy's Betrayal (La traición de Wendy) by Jose Alberto Arias (2010) a Spanish-language darker sequel novel featuring a crazy, evil Peter Pan who kidnaps boys and girls and lets them die in Neverland. It is also the story of Ruth Kenthom, a 12-year-old girl who tries to escape and find her younger sister so that they can go back to London.


 * Another Pan by Daniel Nayeri and Dina Nayeri (2010) a darker version featuring a 18 year old Peter Pan searching for the magic bone dust so he will never grow old. Characters also include Wendy, John and their father George Darling.


 * Other Oceans by Andrea Jones (2012), Book Two of The Hook & Jill Saga, in which the crew of the Jolly Roger sails away from the Neverland, only to confront new dangers.


 * Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between by Peter Von Brown (2013), an interquel novel depicting how Peter Pan, an eternal infant in Kensington Gardens, became the unaging boy on the magical island. Uses Barrie's notes & his additional material on Pan wherever possible..

See also: Works of J. M. Barrie See also: Peter Pan comics See also: canonical Peter Pan works