On October 23, 2007 Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson released Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, a sequel to their other novels Peter and the Starcatchers (2004) and Peter and the Shadow Thieves (2006). The fictional novel was published by Hyperion Books, a Disney company. To help promote the book Barry and Pearson held a book signing at Pirates of the Caribbean, at the Magic Kingdom on December 8, 2007. The new book and other books in the series were available for purchase at the Plaza del Sol Caribe Bazaar gift shop. Mrs. Share a Dream and my mom bought some books and had the authors sign them. I was in charge of taking videos with my camcorder and watching the kids, who fell asleep in their strollers. This book was the “final book” in the trilogy, but later on more books were written like Peter and the Sword of Mercy (2009) and The Bridge to Never Land (2011). The books were illustrated by Greg Call.

Peter and the Secret of Rundoon. The book cover reads: “In this action-packed conclusion to the Starcatchers trilogy, Peter and Molly find themselves in the dangerous land of Rundoon, ruled by the evil King Zarboff, who takes great delight in watching his pet snake, Kundalini, consume anyone who displeased him. But that’s just the start of the trouble facing our heroes, who once again find themselves pitted against the evil shadow creature, Lord Ombra, in a struggle to save themselves and Molly’s father - not to mention the entire planet - from an unthinkable end. Meanwhile, back in Never Land, a tribal war is under way, and while Peter is off fighting to save the world, a young Mollusk princess has no choice but to join forces with the sinister pirates to save her island from the vicious Scorpions. Peter and the Secret of Rundoon is a wild desert adventure - with flying camels, magic carpets, and evil shadows - that literally zooms toward an unforgettable and unimaginable climax. Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have teamed together once again to pen a story with unrelenting action and adventure that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.”

Starcatchers. This youth-fiction series follows the adventures of Peter Pan, from J. M. Barrie’s 1904 stage play and 1911 novel Peter and Wendy. Ridley Pearson’s daughter Paige asked her dad how Peter Pan met Captain Hook in the first place. That led to the first book Peter and the Starcatchers and later Peter and the Shadow Thieves. The books feature characters from the Barrie novel in new adventures not told before. Fans of the classic Peter Pan story, or maybe even the Disney movie, will love these books.

Dave Barry. I grew up in South Florida and enjoyed reading Dave Barry’s humorous column in the Miami Herald, which was also syndicated in the Sun Sentinel. I have checked out several of his books from the library and listened to the audio versions on road trips from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale. Dave Barry grew up in New York and went to college in Pennsylvania. In 1983 he was hired as a humor columnist for the Miami Herald. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his column in 1988. The TV sitcom “Dave’s World” (1993-1997) was based on two of Dave’s 30+ books he has written. The internet says he still lives in Miami and is married with two children.

Ridley Pearson. I am usually not a fan of fiction books, but since The Kingdom Keepers series took place in Walt Disney World I read three or four of those books written by Ridley Pearson. After growing up in Connecticut, Pearson went to the University of Kansas and Brown University. He taught creative writing at Fudan University in Shanghai, China and Boise State University. The band Rock Bottom Remainders consisted of published authors who played music together. Ridley Pearson met Dave Barry in the band and later they teamed up to write the Starcatcher series for Disney, along with other books. Pearson has written many suspense novels. In 2005 he began the New York Times bestselling book series Kingdom Keepers. In the series five teens, who serve as holographic Disney park hosts, go into the park after closing and battle against the attraction characters to help save the “world”.