Many of us have grown up on Disney films and the first image that comes to mind for Peter Pan is the 1953 animated film. J.M. Barrie created the original play nearly 50 years prior, but compared to other Disney adaptations, the film is pretty similar to it’s inspiration.

The novel, Peter Pan, also credited to J.M. Barrie, is a fanciful story of the boy who refuses to grow up and the children he enchants. The Darling kids long for adventure, so when Peter and Tinker Bell stumble into their room in search of Peter’s shadow, they are are swept away by the strange boy’s talk of Neverland.

Neverland is an island full of everything a child could think up: pirates, mermaids, and more. The most incredible part being that no one ever grows up there. On the dreamlike island, Peter leads a ragtag band called the Lost Boys through exotic expeditions and outlandish escapades.

Peter may start off looking like a hero, but throughout the story his role shifts. At first he seems to be saving the Darlings from the dangerous boredom of becoming adults. As Wendy notices the consequences of staying in Neverland, though, the reader finds that staying young is not all it is cracked up to be.