A New View on Peter Pan and Wendy

It’s National Reading Month! As an avid reader and English Teacher this my favorite thing to celebrate! Books are like an annual pass into new worlds! I started a reading challenge on my book blog- Adelyn’s Amazing Adventures. This month’s challenge is to reread a favorite book- in this case I am rereading the first book in The Kingdom Keepers, which is all about Walt Disney World. It’s a world of what happens when the parks are closed down for the night and the characters are free to roam. Ridley Pearson did an AMAZING job at making the magic of Disney and the Disney parks come alive in his books. I read them when I’m really missing Disney World.

I’m also reading another great Disney book – Straight on Till Morning by Liz Braswell- this is part of the Twisted Tales series, where Disney stories are twisted from what we know to something a little darker and sinister. The Aladdin version I read a few years ago was a little too twisted for me, but this version of Peter Pan is really good. It’s an intriguing look on Wendy and her mental state, and I really relate to her. Because she’s experiencing what we all experience at one point in our lives (or multiple). In this version Peter doesn’t come for Wendy, and she waits and waits- for four years! We’ve all waited for Peter Pan, for our letter to Hogwarts, for Obi Wan to bring us a light saber, and now we’re just hoping Gandalf shows up for our 100th birthday party.

I’m not going to give anything away from this story of Wendy and Peter, but it shows Wendy being the girl who didn’t want to grow up, but she’s surrounded by people and a society who is pushing her to give up “childish fantasies” to give up on “Neverland”. Well, I’m here to tell you, what Wendy needed to hear, what I’m sure someone listening needs to here right now, DON’T GIVE UP ON NEVERLAND! You’re Neverland is alive as long as you believe in it- it may become filled with different things as you mature, but it’s so important to keep Neverland alive in our hearts. Don’t let society tell you you’re too old to wear Mickey ears or go to Disney at every vacation opportunity. If that’s what you enjoy than do it! We need more active imaginations, more dreamers and believers! So, clap, clap if you believe in fairies! CLAP IF YOU BELIEVE IN NEVERLAND! Now, didn’t that feel good?

Now, how are we going to use our imaginations? That’s what Wendy had to decide. My favorite quote of the book is this,

“My world has a lot of problems… it’s unfair to ignore them by staying here and pretending they don’t exist.”

This book is not just entertaining, and nostalgic for those of us who love Neverland and Peter Pan, it was educational, thought provoking, and inspiring. I give it the HIGHEST recommendation!

So, those are my Disney book recommendations this month- Kingdom Keepers and Straight on Till Morning. Find them on Amazon or Barnes and Noble or BAM, or anywhere you buy books. Make sure to check your local bookstores first!