After the Rain: A New Adventure for Peter Pan. 2nd edition [Paperback]

J. E. Somma (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 29, 2002 | Age Level: 2 and up

Did you ever wish that you could stop time? To simply take one special part of your life and make it last forever?

Warm, adventurous, and engaging, J. E. Somma’s After the Rain breathes new magic into James Barrie’s loveable character, Peter Pan. Set in the twenty-first century, after one hundred years as the boy who wouldn’t grow up, Peter feels outgrown and forgotten by modern-day children. To get even, in an angry rage he wishes for all of the world’s magic to be cast into a heavily guarded Kingdom. After which, with the help of three new friends who come to his rescue (Crystal, Buddy, and Sean) Peter must face the unforeseen consequences of his wish.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a really good teacher read aloud novel...(my students were)intrigued by the plot." -- Dec 2002, L. Lippert, 4th grade teacher. Algonquin Ridge Elementary School. Barrie ON

J. Emily Somma has written a story filled with wonder, adventure and a cast of great characters." -- Dec 2002, Beverly Rowe, Children's Book Reviewer, Babes to Teens Column, MyShelf.

About the Author

Born in Toronto on October 1, 1958, J. Emily Somma lived in London, England until the age of eighteen when she returned to Canada. While completing her undergraduate studies, she was the first appointed Intern in the Women's Health Office at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. During this time, she compiled an impressive educational anthology of new works about Women and HIV/AIDS, which was published by the University in July 2000. In addition to this, Ms. Somma produced a unique series of workshops called If We Could Just Learn to Listen. Aimed at educating physicians and other health-care, legal, and social service providers about the emotional, spiritual, and psychological needs and experiences of victims and survivors of violent crime and abuse, and their families, the series broke new ground by combining the authenticity of survivor and victim testimony, with poignant live theatre, presenter/participant interaction, and more in its efforts to explore and combat the timely issue of inadvertent systemic revictimization by the health-care, legal, and social service fields. Bringing together what was literally a dream-team of top victims' rights advocates and educators, Ms. Somma's development committee for the project, which was funded in part by the Sexual Assault Network in Hamilton, included Debbie Mahaffy, formerly of the Justice Department (Ontario), Gillian Templeton, of Homewood Centre for Posttraumatic Stress Recovery in Guelph, Ontario, Margo Kennedy, former coordinator of the Woman Abuse Program, Catholic Family Services, Hamilton, Ontario, Debbie Davis, therapist and director of the Sexual Assault Network, Hamilton, Ontario, and Joan Miller, social worker at the Friendship Centre, Six Nations Reserve in Oshweken, Ontario.

Away from the academic/educational arena, Ms. Somma is the active mother of three: Two sons, Domenic (who "...made his mom proud" when he graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History in May 2001) and Lorenzo. And a daughter, Megan. All of her children attended Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton. Incidentally, actor/comedian Martin Short is probably Westdale's most famous graduate to date.

Ms. Somma originally wrote After the Rain in the early 1980's. Despite the fact that publishers expressed an interest in the manuscript, she tucked it away in the back of a closet because, as she says, she "..was too busy to think about it at the time," until her friend, editor Chris Flora approached her and asked if he could print an excerpt from it in a magazine he was launching called The Free Spirit. The Free Spirit featured the work of a number of Hamilton based writers. Ms. Somma is currently finishing her second children's novel titled Golsteinseweg 22, which is due for release in June 2003 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Daisy Books (December 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0973063947
• ISBN-13: 978-0973063943
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 4.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,566,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Teach Me About Food Processors, Crystal!" said Peter - A Review by Tinkerbell III, November 10, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: After the Rain, A New Adventure for Peter Pan (Paperback)

Well I must say, I don't know what happened here. Just about everything went haywire from page one. In an attempt to be creative, the author, J.E. Somma, has destroyed a few of Barrie's original ideas, and the result is a very poor chapter book that really deserves no stars at all.

It starts out with Peter's backstory, where he is fishing with his father in Hyde Park. After being sent to his room for refusal to eat brussels sprouts, Peter overhears Mr. and Mrs. 'Pan' talking about what he is to be when he grows up. (I have to interject here - the author missed the point, Peter is called Pan after the god of nature, describing Peter's status. It is not Peter's actual surname.) Peter apparently already knows Tinker Bell, and she lures him to Neverland with the promise "You will never grow up!" Once Peter arrives in Neverland, he takes control of the island, marking a sign with a crayon that says 'No Adults Allowed'. A brief backstory is given about his exchange with Wendy Darling. This is all okay, but, according to Somma, you DO grow up in Neverland, just very slowly.

Which is why Peter is thirteen, a TEENAGER, when he returns to the mainland. He is completely and ridiculously naive about modern technology. (Ms. Somma, Peter is not a caveman.) He feels resentful, believing everyone has forgotten him. So he puts a curse on magic, draining fantasy from the earth and causing things such as the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy to become trapped in a sort of between-world prison.

While all this is going on, our twelve-year-old heroine Crystal has bigger problems to worry about. Her parents are divorced, she's worried about making the swim team at school, and one night, after having a particularly strange dream, she sees someone sneaking around her house. She and her friends plan to catch the criminal on tape - imagine when they discover it is Peter Pan himself.

Needless to say, Crystal is just the next girl to have a crush on Peter; therefore, she and her friends Buddy and Jason help Peter survive modern life. They teach him about television and food processors and dress him in modern clothes, but Peter can't even figure out how to work the shower and he's nearly caught. Eventually, Peter's magic curse begins to work against him. Now Peter and Crystal must release the world's magic before it is too late.

I am not kidding, it is almost like the author watched a few Peter Pan movies and decided to write her own sequel. Very few things stay true to the original novel, and the book wasn't even well-written enough to compensate. The cover was okay (on the 2nd edition), but the inside illustrations weren't - they're abstract and almost ugly.

By the way, after all this J.E. Somma did not even pay royalties to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital for the copyright to Peter Pan. Shame on you.

There is just no reason to buy this book. (On the same note, I would not even attempt Karen Wallace's 'Wendy', which has Wendy Darling growing up in an abusive household, and that's just in poor taste....) If you are looking for a nice sequel, try "Peter Pan in Scarlet", which is at least well-written and officially commissioned by GOSH.

P.S. Check out the other Peter Pan-related reviews by Tinkerbell III!

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You've gotta read this!, August 28, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: After the Rain, A New Adventure for Peter Pan (Paperback)

I really enjoy books about fairy tales and My aunt got me "After the Rain..." I read it in a couple nights. It was really good... I really like the part where Peter makes a new fairy named Oliver... There were lots of other neat things that happen and I think that if you like to escape to imaginary places in books you'll like where this book takes you!

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The copyfight, December 22, 2007

By 

David Turner (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: After the Rain, A New Adventure for Peter Pan (Paperback)

Peter Pan is specifically mentioned in UK copyright law; it never goes out of copyright there, and royalties go to some random hospital. In the rest of the world, it's in the public domain. That's why Somma could write this book.

Health care in the UK is funded by the UK government. Some morons here think that the rest of the world ought to subsidise the UK taxpayer because of this bizarre law. I see no reason why I would want to do this. If I want to help children, I'll give money to Oxfam. Perhaps that's what Somma does.

At any rate, I am only rating this book a 5 to counter out all the people who gave it one star for bogus copyright reasons.