It has taken twenty-eight years of reading
children'sliterature to figure out that 'classic' children's books are classified
as suchfor a reason. Perhaps I have fallen victim to the common assumption thatreaders of today crave a different
humour to that found within the pages of ahundred-year-old book, or perhaps I am simply quite thick. Either way,all you Disney fans can rest assured that the humour in J.M. Barries' PeterPan was not cleverly inserted by the undoubtedly marvellous staff of theWalt Disney studios. Granted, the humour is achieved in a differing wayto most modern-day
children's literature, in that Barrie does not feel the needto include the words 'knickers' or 'bogie' to raise a laugh, but instead reliesupon good old-fashioned cleverness, originality and charm. Barries'tendency to shock the reader with semi-inappropriate statements is comparableonly to the works of the literary god that is Mr Roald Dahl, making his writingappeal both to adults and children alike. For example, having watched theimpish figure of Disney's Peter prancing around the Neverland in alittle green hat and thigh-length tunic, to discover Barries' Peter'vindictively killing off grown-ups' by chapter 8 is surprising to say theleast. Of course, had I know that an adult will die each time I chance tobreathe on the shores of the Neverland, it may have been less of a shock to mysystem. Furthermore, it is a less romantic tale than I first imagined thatMr Darling won the affections of Mrs Darling by 'taking a cab and nipping infirst' before the other less mobile suiters could say "I believe infairies". Or that the dog, Nana, was employed because the familycould not afford better care due to the amount of milk consumed by the Darlingchildren, the greedy little beggars. The list of quotations could go onforever, (to which, I should add, that last sentence does not belong) but thewords are best viewed in the context of the book. J.M. Barrie makes magic with words and you shouldn't miss it for all thefairy dust in Neverland. To die would indeed be an awfully big adventure,but how sad to do so without first discovering the true Peter Pan.