BLOOD TIDE: A NEVER LAND BOOK by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (2008)

Illustrated by Greg Call. Disney Editions; 148 pages; adventure/fantasy; ages 8-12; ISBN: 978-078683791-5.

After an earthquake unsettles the occupants of Never Land Island, James, one of the Lost Boys, notices that the water in the lagoon now has a reddish tint instead of its usual blue. Moments later the boys are attacked by mermaids, who have been a peaceful species until now. Later they attack members of the Mollusk tribe, who feel they have no choice but to retaliate. Meanwhile, a barrel has washed ashore and been confiscated by Captain Hook and his men, who may or may not be trying to wipe out both the mermaids and the Mollusk tribe by triggering a war.

I grew up reading Dave Barry's syndicated humor columns in the local newspaper, but he's obviously flexing different muscles here. (Same for Pearson, who's mainly known as a crime fiction writer. Together he and Barry make one Carl Hiaasen, I suppose.) Barry always talked about how his job as a humor columnist afforded him the chance to not grow up and be a mature adult, so a Peter Pan spin-off series would seem right up his alley, and Blood Tide provides a sufficient number of junior thrills and chills. The book's environmental message also puts it in league with Hoot and Flush, Hiaasen's books for young readers.

For further reading, check out the first two books in Barry and Pearson's "Never Land" series, Escape From the Carnivale (2006) and Cave of the Dark Wind (2007).