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Starcatchers Trilogy is 2008 Selection

ReadMOre is a statewide initiative of local libraries to involve Missouri citizens in reading and discussing the same book. The three books in the Starcatchers Trilogy — Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon — are extremely popular with readers of all ages. A prequel to J.M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan, the series answers lingering questions such as how Captain Hook lost his hand, how Peter learned to fly, and what exactly is in Tinker Bell's "starstuff." Co-authors Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have infused the familiar classic with their quirky imagination and humor and created one of the best fantasy series in decades.

Adapted from Wikipedia:

Peter and the Starcatchers, a best-selling children's novel, was published by Hyperion Books, a subsidiary of Disney, in 2004. Written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, the book attempts to provide a backstory for the character Peter Pan, and to serve as a prequel to J.M. Barrie's novel Peter Pan and Wendy. A CGI (computer-generated imagery) animated feature film of Peter and the Starcatchers is under development by Disney Studios, and in Ridley Pearson's May 2007 newsletter he announced a Broadway show version is also in the works.

As of 2006, Starcatchers has been released in paperback edition. A sequel, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, was released in July of 2006. Peter and the Secret of Rundoon was released in 2007 as the final volume of the Starcatchers Trilogy. The authors also say they plan a series of five Neverland chapter books.

Plot Summary

The story begins on the ragged ship "The Never Land". A young orphan boy, Peter, and four of his friends have been sent from St. Norbert's Home for Wayward Boys to board the ship, and soon find out they are going to serve as slaves to ruthless King Zarboff III of Rundoon.

Living in terrible conditions, Peter and his friends plot for a way to escape. Then, onboard the ship, Peter meets a girl named Molly Aster. Cocky Peter is thrown off his guard by the spirited Molly and finds her intriguing.

Soon, strange things begin happening on The Never Land. While foraging for food, Peter has discovered an old, battered chest, and finds that Molly and the crewmen Slank and Alf know things about it that he does not. Peter soon confronts Molly, and learns that she is an apprentice to a group of strange people - Starcatchers. Molly explains that the job of Starcatchers is to gather the magical "starstuff" that falls from shooting stars and protect it from people called "Others", who will misuse the magic.

Molly claims the magic of starstuff is the unwitting cause of much of the world’s troubles. She tells Peter that people like Attila the Hun became evil dictators because they abused starstuff, and she says that fairies, mermaids, and centaurs were all originally animals mutated by starstuff's magical powers. She also says that the genius of artists like Leonardo da Vinci was due to starstuff. Molly explains that starstuff has wonderful healing powers as well. Peter doesn't believe her at first, but Molly goes on to prove starstuff's power by showing Peter that she has the ability to fly. She says he must help her protect the starstuff on board.

Meanwhile, the pirate Black Stache has planned and plotted to capture a naval ship named The Wasp. The Wasp is the fastest ship on the sea, and in order to catch it, Stache raises a gigantic, corset-shaped sail he calls "The Ladies". He speeds up to catch the ship, captures it, and renames it the Jolly Roger. He does not know that Molly's father, the great Starcatcher Leonard Aster, was on board with a decoy starstuff trunk. Leonard escapes the capture of Black Stache, but the Never Land does not.

When The Never Land is attacked by Black Stache during a massive thunderstorm, the decrepit ship is wrecked on the rocks of a small island. The few survivors - including Molly, Peter, and the orphans, are separated, but they individually take shelter on the island. The sailor Alf helps to guide the orphans, but they are soon captured by the Mollusk Tribe native to the island, and nearly fed to the tribe's neighbor, crocodile Mr. Grin.

Soon Molly and Peter realize that the trunk of starstuff has disappeared, and together they embark on a search for it. At the same time, the seaman Slank, who is actually an "Other", is trying to get control of the starstuff. Even Black Stache has caught wind of its magic powers. Molly and Peter try to find the magic trunk, but separate after they have an argument.

Many adventures ensue while the two are apart - Peter is nearly fed to the Crocodile, Molly is captured by Slank and Stache, Peter is repeatedly wounded but saved by mermaids. After a climactic battle with the villains, Peter cuts off Stache's left hand, which is eaten by Mr. Grin. Slank and his cohort Little Richard are defeated as well, but during the battle, Peter accidentally wounds the tribe leader, Fighting Prawn. Luckily, Peter has a small amount of remaining starstuff, which he uses to heal the Mollusk chief.

Thanks to Molly and Peter's efforts, the trunk of starstuff is saved, returned to the Starcatchers and Molly's surviving father. Peter however, because of his exposure to starstuff, has gained the permanent ability to fly. It is also uncertain if he will ever grow up. Peter learns he will be an outcast, and when Molly returns to London, he decides to stay on the island, so he can be the person he really is and not "a freakshow". The orphan boys decide to remain with him, and Leonard Aster creates a fairy, which they name Tinker Bell, to protect Peter. Peter learns to survive on the island, which he names "Neverland" after the ship that wrecked on its rocks.