For many of us, it is almost impossible to imagine childhood without Peter Pan. The whimsical and playful boy who never grew up has been an enriching part of so many lives for over a century. Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is the melancholy story of young Peter who, as an infant, escapes from his mother and finds himself among the fairies of London's Kensington Gardens.

J.M. Barrie's first published novel about Peter Pan is a valuable and beautiful addition to collections, particularly in its first edition which was illustrated by Arthur Rackham. This particular edition (Hodder and Stoughton: London, 1906) is valued between $500 and $18,000. Books in better condition or with particularly interesting histories fetch higher prices.

Another valuable edition is the 1912 republication by Hodder and Stoughton. This edition features more of Rackham's illustrations and formats the book so that the images appear interspersed throughout the text rather than at the end of the book-as they had in the 1906 edition. The 1912 Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens sells for about $400 to $4,000, again depending on the book's condition and history.