Sword Fight at the Library!

About a week ago I volunteered at my local library to lead a boys book discussion with some assistance from library staff, other volunteers, and a couple friends of mine. The book we discussed was Peter & The Starcatchers, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.

The book itself was excellent! An exciting adventure set as a "prequel" of sorts to the classic, Peter Pan & Wendy. In this book Peter and his group of friends are beeing sold as slaves to a greedy and cruel King of some foreign land. During their journey across the ocean, Peter discovers a treasure of "starstuff", which has many supernatural powers, is being transported in secret. He joins the cause of a group called the Starcatchers, who want to keep this potent material out of the hands of common and greedy people who would abuse its power.

There is an excellently described Pirate attack at sea, followed by a shipwreck, and the discovery of a remote island with native inhabitants who have some secrets of their own. All-in-all it was a very fast and enjoyable read, and a great title to recommend to grade-school boys. But the book talk wasn't even half the fun!

Immediately after the book talk we quickly segued into a presentation/demonstration about swords and sword-fighting, presented by my friends, who had made a special trip into town for this event... in full Pirate costumes! What's better is they planned an ambush in the middle of the program...

While my one friend, "Wolf", began an informational talk about what the parts of a sword are, my other friend (who had hid himself away in a utility closet in the back of the room for the entire book discussion segment of the program) stormed into the room and declared an intent to exact his revenge on Wolf. The two engaged in some generic cheesy dialog, and hastily erupted into a full-blown (but well rehearsed!) sword fight in front of the stunned grade schoolers. It was a riot! After their quick fight concluded, they stood & bowed- to much applause!

From that point on they continued their demonstration in perfect tandem. The kids loved it, I loved it, and it was all free entertainment provided at my local library! I do recommend the book for those who may be looking for a youth/young adult adventure-fantasy type of story. I've already began reding Barry & Pearson's sequel, Peter & the Shadow Theives. There is also a Peter & the Secret of Rundoon, and a 4th book coming soon by these authors.

Enjoy!