Peter Pan
By J.M. Barrie
What really surprised me about this book was how dedicated Captain Hook was to “good form”. In the Disney animated film – and its direct-to-video sequel – Hook is a lying, cheating, conniving villain. Although its been years since I’ve read Peter Pan, I remember how much Hook is concerned with doing things the right way. It also interested me that (spoiler alert) Hook dies at the end. A lot of modern adaptations or re-interpretations of Peter Pan hesitate to do this, leaving Pan and Hook to continually fight for eternity. That’s not how J.M. Barrie views Neverland – though Peter never grows up, there’s still change and a sense of permanence to the goings-on in his world.
A Little Princess
By Frances Hodgson Burnett
I was thoroughly taken with this book. The protagonist is a completely charming heroine who teaches through her actions that being a ‘princess’ is far more than just looking like one. I found myself consistently smiling at the things she says and does.
I’d had a paperback version of this that I purchased for school, but I was always looking for a nicer copy. This one, Jenna got me for my 24th birthday.
Pinnochio
By Carlo Collodi
Pinnochio was a serialized story – so think of each chapter like a TV episode. People reading it originally had to wait for each new episode to come out. What’s funny is that the author actually intended to kill off Pinnochio and end the story, but the character was so popular that he was forced to bring him back to life – literally – to continue the series.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read this, but what I remember is that there’s a lot different from the Disney film.
Winnie The Pooh
By A. A. Milne
It’s hard not to fall in love with Winnie right off the bat. He’s an utterly lovable character in every sense. Every story within these pages is just pure delight. Milne captures the essence of childhood adventure and the simplicity of life when you’re young. When I picked this book up I wondered if it would be any less relevant in today’s day and age. The answer is a resounding “no” – this book is every bit as charming and fun as I have no doubt it was when it was first released.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
By Lewis Carroll
There’s a reason this story gets told and re-told and remade and remixed time and time again. This story is not like other classic novels, where it’s the gripping nature of the storytelling that pulls you in and leaves you desperate to turn the page and figure out what’s going to happen next. It’s not like one of those stories where there’s a killer twist at the end that re-contextualizes everything. What’s made this book so lasting is its fantasticality – there’s nothing else quite like it. The visuals of the story are wildly nonsensical – there’s something about them that just sticks in your mind. The different scenes are all completely unique and different from each other. You probably remember most of the characters Alice meets in Wonderland, but I doubt you remember the order she meets them in. That’s because the chronology doesn’t matter so much. The fun of this book is just that – the fun. You enjoy this book because of the fun in each scene, not because of the way those scenes work together.
Peter Rabbit
By Beatrix Potter
I remember having many Peter Rabbit books on my family’s shelf as a child – and it’s silly, but there was a cereal bowl we had in our house that was a “Peter Rabbit” bowl, and for whatever reason, I treasured it as my cereal bowl – no one else could touch it. It had the line “Then old Mrs. Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella and went through the wood to the baker’s. She bought a loaf of brown bread” written around the border.
Anyway, there’s a lot to like about the Peter Rabbit stories. In a way, one could say that Beatrix Potter paved the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Each story focuses on a different character, but every now and then an old familiar face will come in to enrich and enhance what is already a quality story. The locations and places become familiar as you read.
What surprised me about these stories is how playful they are and how grisly they are at the same time. For example, you’ll read a story about a bunch of cute little chipmunks bringing gifts to an owl so they can look for nuts on his lands – and then all of a sudden a character is seconds away from literally skinning someone alive. Potter doesn’t let you forget that these are stories about animals. Animals with clothes and etiquette, yes, but animals nonetheless.
Potter’s woodland creatures have aged very differently from Milne’s characters of the Hundred Acre Wood. They’re still charming and fun, but the tone of realism that Potter added makes me realize that what was appropriate in terms of graphic content for a children’s story back then has changed significantly in our time.