London at night from the air has never looked quite so magical before, and Neverland, approached from the sky, appears to rise from a perfect, bucolic beach like a tropical oasis. From Tinkerbell to the mermaids of Marooner's Rock, the beguiling tale of the boy who never wants to grow up is an interactive adventure in pop-up king Robert Sabuda's latest masterpiece. The full-scale, multi-dimensional delights of the fantastical renderings, like my favorite --- Peter Pan flying out of the pages of the book towards the reader --- will keep many youngsters coming back year after year to revisit this gorgeous adaptation of the world-renowned tale.
There is little to complain about here, save the muted color scheme that gives the book an old-fashioned feeling. Perhaps I am too used to the brilliantly vivid colors of the Disney version, but there is something to be said for the palette here and the feeling it represents. As Peter Pan takes Wendy, John and Michael with him on a trip to his homeland to overcome the evil Captain Hook, the pop-ups themselves depict only major plot points --- and then not even the MOST major plot points. Which is another thing I really like about this book --- it doesn't attempt to overdo or remake the most familiar scenes but rather to illustrate other parts of the story that the Disney version skimmed over.
On each page, there is not only the pop-up picture but also a storybook that reads elegantly, like the original prose of J. M. Barrie himself, with smaller, full-color illustrations that help to anchor the pop-ups to the rest of the narrative. Often these pages fold out to reveal additional though smaller pop-up paintings that carry on the story. Although it is expected now that Sabuda's books will always be a gorgeous sight, their attention to the detail of the original tale or text that the pop-ups illustrate is just as original and fascinating as the 3-D artwork.
Sabuda's creations --- whether they be about real-life creatures like sharks and dinosaurs, or great works of literature, from ALICE IN WONDERLAND to THE WIZARD OF OZ --- are a jumping-off point for the original works. But PETER PAN must be appreciated on its own as a great work of art, a moving part of the continuum of this famous adventure from generation to generation. Like Peter Pan himself, the story never grows old and the flight of fancy it depicts lives on in this beautiful volume for the next group of Lost Boys and Girls. It deserves to be in a museum but will find a better home, surely, on your own bookshelf.
--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano
