Inscription

Peter Pan was one of my favourite books when I was a child. Captain Hook was my favourite villain and I gave Alvin the Treacherous a hook in his honour… A story about an island, and growing up, and flying, and a villain with a hook. (letter) How to Train Your Dragon and Peter Pan “I don’t know whether you have ever seen a map of a person’s mind… There are zig-zag lines on it, just like your temperature on a card, and these are probably roads in the island; for the Neverland is always more or less an island…” From Peter Pan by JM Barrie My own Neverland is the Isle of Berk. Peter Pan was one of my favourite books when I was a child. There are many versions of this story, which started off life as a play. There is “Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens” which has a rather whimsical text, but sunning Arthur Ransome illustrations. “Peter Pan and Wendy”, a version for younger readers with illustrations by Mabel Laurie Atwell. I like the unedited JM Barrie text the best but I chose this version for Edward Ardizzone’s glorious illustrations… and because it was the edition that I owned as a child. The story of Peter Pan entered my bones, and without even thinking about it, the map of the Neverland was the inspiration for the Isle of Berk, it’s ‘zig-zag lines’ can be seen haunting the story of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’. There were no conscious parallels – but without thinking I, too, had written a story about growing-up, and an island, and flying, and a villain with a hook. For me, the joy of books is that they are like opening the doors to someone else’s Neverland. And when I open this book, I am a child again. Cressida Cowell

Additional information

Peter Pan is undoubtedly one of the most famous and best-loved stories for children, an unforgettable, magical fantasy which has been enjoyed by generations.