Reference Question of the Week – 10/30/11
November 5th, 2011
Due to the power outage, this has been an odd week. The library didn't get everything restored (power, heat, and internet access) until Thursday, and since many peoples' homes were still without power, it was crazy at the library. Which made this question fit right in.
Remember the patron who asked if Donna and Eric from "That 70's Show" got married, and if SpongeBob likes Sandy? Well, Thursday he called in and asked,
Do you know how Peter Pan and Tinker Bell first met?
I kind of laughed because as odd as this was, it actually is a literary question - although, while I was searching, the patron just kept recounting the various Peter Pan movie adaptations.
Anyway, from what could remember from Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, when Peter was a baby he escaped from his parents by flying to Kensington Gardens, and ended up living there among the fairies. Our copy of Peter Pan wasn't on the shelf, and I couldn't find a conclusive answer online (because there are so many versions of the story).
I summarized everything I had found for the patron, saying that they might have met in Kensington Gardens, after Peter started living there and Tinker Bell liked him because he was "lost." I don't like giving unsourced non-authoritative guesses as answers, but I don't know if there is an answer for this. The patron seemed happy though, and hung up.
It's been awhile since I've read Peter Pan - now I have to read it again and see if there's any reference to how they met.
November 5th, 2011 at 10:28 am
It looks like this book is full-text at Google Books (the J.M Barrie) if the patron (or anyone else) is interested.
November 6th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
There really aren’t that many versions of Peter Pan. It was a play, and then it was a novel. The only versions that count are the ones by J.M. Barrie. Not that it matters in the least.
November 7th, 2011 at 10:33 am
Not sure about the play, but I don’t recall the novel specifically saying how they met.
November 7th, 2011 at 10:38 am
@Jude: Well, few real versions, but many adaptations (especially movies – the Disney animated one, Hook, Finding Neverland, etc) that this patron seems to be more familiar with – which just serves to further confuse the issue.
And coincidentally, later in the day after posting this, I read a review for The Annotated Peter Pan. Which of course I ordered – hopefully, it’ll make reference to this question.