Magical adventure has stereotypes, offensive language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
some
Before the events in the story, Peter cut off Captain Hook's hand. Wendy is shot with an arrow and believed dead. Children are captured by pirates and told they must walk the plank. There's an attempted murder by poisoning.
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Tinkerbell calls Peter a "silly ass." Native Americans are repeatedly called "redskins," and at one point, Peter refers to them as "Piccaninny warriors."
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The few female characters set the best examples. Wendy is kind, patient, and caring with Peter, her brothers, and the Lost Boys. Tinkerbell is loyal to Peter and saves his life. Tiger Lily is brave and loyal as well.
Educational Value
very little
Readers will learn a little about middle-class English family life at the beginning of the 20th century.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan is a celebration of childhood and imagination. Magical Peter takes three English siblings across the sky to where he lives in Neverland to have adventures among pirates, fairies, mermaids, wild animals, Lost Boys, and a Native American tribe. However, young readers will benefit from some at-home or classroom discussion about the story's outdated sexist and racist stereotypes. As Wendy plays "mother" to the boys in the novel, she takes on a very old-fashioned motherly role, similar to her own mother's. Native Americans in the book are referred to as "redskins," and once as "Piccaninny warriors." There's a little bit of real violence in the story, and much more threatened violence. Native Americans smoke a peace pipe. Captain Hook smokes cigars. Peter Pan has been adapted for stage, TV, and film, including the entertaining but similarly problematic 1953 Disney version.
A classic, yes, but a tone-deaf patronizing one that is woefully mismatched to contemporary social mores. The original Peter Pan novel by J. M. Barrie is rife with cringe-worthy racism, sexism, gender stereotypes, and casual killing. While this might have been an "exciting" and "charming" tale 100+ years ago, and though it attempts pathos and sentimentality, it is ultimately a rather hollow story with one-dimensional characters and highly inappropriate messaging. I read this in advance of possibly adding it to my child's reading list. Thank goodness I did!
What's the Story?
In J.M. Barrie's PETER PAN, Peter flies through the window of the Darling nursery in search of his shadow. He meets Wendy, Michael, and John, teaches them to fly, and leads them to the home of the Lost Boys in Neverland so that Wendy can be all of the boys' new mother. There, among pirates, Native Americans, mermaids, and wild animals, the children have exciting adventures. However, Captain Hook and his band of pirates are determined to wipe out the Lost Boys, especially the cocky Peter Pan. Hook plans to kidnap the boys and Wendy, poison Peter, and make the boys walk the plank while Wendy watches. It will take equal parts magic and courage for the Darling children to make their escape and find their way back home to London.
This classic fantasy is full of thrilling adventures that spark children's imaginations, but some of the attitudes and language in J.M. Barrie's masterpiece are dated and offensive. Peter Pan is richly complex, inspiring moments of humor, pity, sadness, excitement, and fear. Another fascinating aspect of this novel is the fact that the author occasionally breaks the "fourth wall" by inserting himself into the story. For example, he writes of trying to decide whether to let Mrs. Darling know in a dream that her children are on their way home. This aspect of the book -- along with the archaic ideas and language about gender roles and indigenous people -- make the novel a great subject for home or classroom discussion, as well as an exciting and magical childhood fantasy.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Peter Pan sparks the imagination. Do you wish you could fly? Do you wish you could have adventures like the Darling children and fight with pirates?
Have you seen the Disney movie of Peter Pan? How are the book and the movie different from each other?
What do you think about the way Native Americans are shown and discussed in the book?
In this book, what does it mean to be a mother? Would you like to have a mother like Wendy or Mrs. Darling?
Available on:
Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
Last updated:
January 8, 2021
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