Key takeaways
- Peter Pan is the strongest adventure tale for about ages 5 to 8, and the text adapts for younger children too.
- In this retelling the child flies to Neverland, meets the lost children and frees them from the pirate ship.
- A sibling, cousin or friend can play the boy in green.
- The eight-page example book was made from one photo in the luminous drawing look.
Peter Pan is the tale we’d pick for a child who wants an adventure with a bit of mischief in it. The example book on I Am In The Story is “Finn’s Flight to Neverland”: eight pages made from one photo, in the luminous drawing look at low strength, so Finn stays very close to his photo. As with every example book on the site, Finn is not a real child; his photo was generated by AI so that no family’s child is on the page.
What happens
It starts with a sound at the window: tap, tap! A boy who never grew up is crouched on the sill, fairy dust twinkles, and two-year-old Finn floats out over the rooftops “arms wide as wings”.
Flying doesn’t come naturally at first. Finn’s “elbows flapped, and his knees wobbled” until the boy in green shouts the best advice in the book: “Try swimming!” Finn paddles through the air until the city drops away below, the river and rooftops turning tiny.
Over Neverland there’s a glittering lagoon, a little ship and the lost children waving from their hideout. Down a hollow tree is their snug underground home, an imaginary supper and the house rule every child approves of: “No bedtime here!” At the lagoon the mermaids are beautiful and rude (“Give us your hat, little fellow!”), and Finn wisely keeps his hat on.
Then the pirates carry the lost children off to their ship. Finn spots them from behind a rock, and with his flying friend he slips aboard while the captain flees to his cabin from the crocodile ticking below. Finn frees everyone, they fly away safely, and the book ends where it began: Finn flies home to the glowing window, promising to come back for the holidays.
Why it works for this age
The tale is at its best from about five to eight, when children want to be the one who does something: here the child is the one who frees the lost children, not someone who is swept along. But the example book shows how far down the age range it stretches. It was written for a two-year-old, so the sentences are short, the danger is mild (the captain runs from a ticking crocodile) and every page has something simple to point at.
It also starts and ends at a bedroom window at night, which makes it a surprisingly good bedtime book for an adventure story.
Who it suits
| Best age | About 2 to 8 (the text follows the child’s age) |
| Heroes | One or two |
| Family part | The boy in green (a sibling, cousin or friend) |
| Mood | Adventure and jokes, calm ending |
| Good for | Birthdays, siblings, children who want to fly |
Ideas
Make it for two siblings and let the younger one play the boy in green; there’s more in books for siblings. If your child prefers bolder pictures, the cartoon look suits this tale too (see the styles guide).
For more adventure tales, Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin and Alice in Wonderland are covered in our fairy tale round-up.
Make a personalised Peter Pan on iaminthestory.com.
Frequently asked questions
What age is a personalised Peter Pan for?
Roughly five to eight. It's longer and busier than the gentle tales, with pirates and a crocodile, but nothing a five-year-old will find frightening.
Can two children be in it?
Yes. One or two children can be heroes, and a sibling or friend can also play the boy in green.
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