Perhaps responding to the modern phenomenon known as Peter Pan syndrome, Kavey (history, CUNY, John Jay College) and Friedman (media studies, Hobart and William Smith Colleges) collect nine excellent essays that explore the social and artistic impacts of J. M. Barrie's classic tale over the past century. The contributors treat subjects ranging from the Disney versions of Peter Pan and Steven Spielberg's Hook to what constitutes children's literature. Among the questions addressed: Is the Peter Pan story suitable for children (a lot of not-so-buried sexual tension)? Do children even read Peter Pan anymore? How does content determine the categorization of a book as children's literature or adult literature? And, perhaps most important, how does a work like Peter Pan address the shifting boundary between adult- and child-appropriate reading? [More].The third essay, "I do believe in fairies, I do, I do", caught my attention. I found myself pulled into the relationship between Peter Pan and the Greek Pan. In the TV movie, Neverland, Peter used his flute to give directions to his band of Lost Boys. I hadn't tied the flute playing of Peter Pan to the Greek Pan!
I'm going back to read the other essays. Who knows what other insights I will pick up.
Check with your CTC Librarian for information on how to access the e-books off campus.
-kss
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