Have you ever wondered what Peter Pan’s been up to since … well, since Peter Pan? Revealing yet again its increasing tendency not to leave good enough alone, Disney has launched a series of sequels. This one follows Peter and the Starcatchers, and we find the flying boy sallying forth into pirate territory, where he crosses paths with his old enemy, Cap’n Hook, now known for some reason as Black Stache. (Because as the possessor of a hook-hand, the captain is disabled, and now it’s considered cruel to point that out?) Disinterring a beloved classic protagonist out of peaceful oblivion like this and putting words into his mouth — it’s the sort of presumption you either love or hate. You might also have wondered what Pulitzer Prize-winner Barry (author of Boogers Are My Beat) has been up to lately — well, it’s this, in partnership with bestselling novelist Pearson. Aimed at young readers aged ten and up, the writing is as sprightly as you’d expect from seasoned pros, who at nearly 550 pages of dialogue and detail and sassy snits involving Tinkerbell are clearly going the J.K. Rowling bigger-is-better route.
Grade: B, probably, if you like this sort of thing