To be servants to the cruel King of Rundoon. Norbert's Home for Wayward Boys are shipped off on the ship Never Land As the novel opens, Peter and several others from St. Those curious about how Captain Hook lost his hand, why Peter never ages and can fly, and how a band of boys came to live in Never Land, will be sated by the magic-dusted plot points and the lively pirate confabulation here. They add greatly to the story.Bestselling adult authors Barry and Pearson imagine a rollicking adventure as a prequel to J.M. Illustrator Greg Call does a wonderful job capturing the soul of each character in his expressions. They’re extremely well done–detailed black and white drawings (charcoal?) drawn on gray paper. I also want to mention the illustrations before I close out. But he’s in here for a brief “ah-ha” kind of scene, along with a St. I didn’t catch it last time I read it, maybe because I’m accustomed to seeing his name written as J. This time around, I realized that the authors gave James Barrie, the author of Peter and Wendy, a cameo appearance in this book. In fact, I don’t recall any profanities in this one at all.

Still, it’s entirely appropriate for kids 10+. The threat in this one is slower, less slapstick, and less violent, but more menacing. Appearing in the form of a cloaked man, he glides around, oozing in and out of tight spaces. Ombra is an entirely different kind of evil. This one isn’t quite as violent as the first book, which featured pirates. Before I know it, I’m another hundred pages in. They also continue to exercise their superb talent for funny dialogue and keep their characters on the brink of disaster. Barry take the shadow theme and give it a huge new significance. Like book one, the sequel continues to tie well-known details from the classic story into new adventures.

Peter must help the Asters return the stardust to the heavens before the Others get ahold of it, but Ombra proves a much cannier adversary than any he’s yet faced. The old villain Slank is among their number, along with a new nemesis, Captain Nerezza, and a cold, raspy creature called Lord Ombra who controls people by stealing their shadows. But he and Tink have to stow away on the very boat that carries the Others. But when he learns the Others (evil ones who seek to rule the world with the power of stardust) have tracked the huge shipment of stardust to the Asters, he doesn’t hesitate to travel to their rescue. Peter chose to stay in Never Land with the lost boys rather than live with Molly and her family in London.

The pre-adventures of Peter Pan continue, and they’re just as fun and fantastic in Peter and the Shadow Thieves as they are in book one.

Peter and the starcatchers series books