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Mary Poppins #1
Mary Poppins
By P.L. Travers, the author featured in the major motion picture, Saving Mr. Banks. From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed.
It all starts when Mary Poppins is blown by the east wind onto the doorstep of the Banks house. She becomes a most unusual nanny to Jane, Michael, and the twins. Who else but Mary Poppins can slide up banisters, pull an entire armchair out of an empty carpetbag, and make a dose of medicine taste like delicious lime-juice cordial? A day with Mary Poppins is a day of magic and make-believe come to life!
It all starts when Mary Poppins is blown by the east wind onto the doorstep of the Banks house. She becomes a most unusual nanny to Jane, Michael, and the twins. Who else but Mary Poppins can slide up banisters, pull an entire armchair out of an empty carpetbag, and make a dose of medicine taste like delicious lime-juice cordial? A day with Mary Poppins is a day of magic and make-believe come to life!
209 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1934
About the author
P.L. Travers
59 books707 followersPamela Lyndon Travers was an Australian novelist, actress and journalist, popularly remembered for her series of children's novels about mystical nanny Mary Poppins.
She was born to bank manager Travers Robert Goff and Margaret Agnes. Her father died when she was seven, and although "epileptic seizure delirium" was given as the cause of death, Travers herself "always believed the underlying cause was sustained, heavy drinking".
Travers began to publish her poems while still a teenager and wrote for The Bulletin and Triad while also gaining a reputation as an actress. She toured Australia and New Zealand with a Shakespearean touring company before leaving for England in 1924. There she dedicated herself to writing under the pen name P. L. Travers.
In 1925 while in Ireland, Travers met the poet George William Russell who, as editor of The Irish Statesman, accepted some of her poems for publication. Through Russell, Travers met William Butler Yeats and other Irish poets who fostered her interest in and knowledge of world mythology. Later, the mystic Gurdjieff would have a great effect on her, as would also have on several other literary figures.
The 1934 publication of Mary Poppins was Travers' first literary success.Five sequels followed, as well as a collection of other novels, poetry collections and works of non-fiction.
The Disney musical adaptation was released in 1964. Primarily based on the first novel in what was then a sequence of four books, it also lifted elements from the sequel Mary Poppins Comes Back. Although Travers was an adviser to the production she disapproved of the dilution of the harsher aspects of Mary Poppins's character, felt ambivalent about the music and disliked the use of animation to such an extent that she ruled out any further adaptations of the later Mary Poppins novels. At the film's star-studded premiere, she reportedly approached Disney and told him that the animated sequence had to go. Disney responded by saying "Pamela, the ship has sailed." and walked away. Travers would never again agree to another Poppins/Disney adaptation, though Disney made several attempts to persuade her to change her mind.
So fervent was Travers' dislike of the Walt Disney adaptation and the way she felt she had been treated during the production, that well into her 90s, when she was approached by producer Cameron Mackintosh to do the stage musical, she only acquiesced upon the condition that only English born writers (and specifically no Americans) and no one from the film production were to be directly involved with the creative process of the stage musical. This specifically excluded the Sherman Brothers from writing additional songs for the production even though they were still very prolific. Original songs and other aspects from the 1964 film were allowed to be incorporated into the production however. These points were stipulated in her last will and testament.
Travers was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1977. She died in London in 1996.
Although Travers never married, she adopted a boy when she was in her late 30s.
She was born to bank manager Travers Robert Goff and Margaret Agnes. Her father died when she was seven, and although "epileptic seizure delirium" was given as the cause of death, Travers herself "always believed the underlying cause was sustained, heavy drinking".
Travers began to publish her poems while still a teenager and wrote for The Bulletin and Triad while also gaining a reputation as an actress. She toured Australia and New Zealand with a Shakespearean touring company before leaving for England in 1924. There she dedicated herself to writing under the pen name P. L. Travers.
In 1925 while in Ireland, Travers met the poet George William Russell who, as editor of The Irish Statesman, accepted some of her poems for publication. Through Russell, Travers met William Butler Yeats and other Irish poets who fostered her interest in and knowledge of world mythology. Later, the mystic Gurdjieff would have a great effect on her, as would also have on several other literary figures.
The 1934 publication of Mary Poppins was Travers' first literary success.Five sequels followed, as well as a collection of other novels, poetry collections and works of non-fiction.
The Disney musical adaptation was released in 1964. Primarily based on the first novel in what was then a sequence of four books, it also lifted elements from the sequel Mary Poppins Comes Back. Although Travers was an adviser to the production she disapproved of the dilution of the harsher aspects of Mary Poppins's character, felt ambivalent about the music and disliked the use of animation to such an extent that she ruled out any further adaptations of the later Mary Poppins novels. At the film's star-studded premiere, she reportedly approached Disney and told him that the animated sequence had to go. Disney responded by saying "Pamela, the ship has sailed." and walked away. Travers would never again agree to another Poppins/Disney adaptation, though Disney made several attempts to persuade her to change her mind.
So fervent was Travers' dislike of the Walt Disney adaptation and the way she felt she had been treated during the production, that well into her 90s, when she was approached by producer Cameron Mackintosh to do the stage musical, she only acquiesced upon the condition that only English born writers (and specifically no Americans) and no one from the film production were to be directly involved with the creative process of the stage musical. This specifically excluded the Sherman Brothers from writing additional songs for the production even though they were still very prolific. Original songs and other aspects from the 1964 film were allowed to be incorporated into the production however. These points were stipulated in her last will and testament.
Travers was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1977. She died in London in 1996.
Although Travers never married, she adopted a boy when she was in her late 30s.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 7,135 reviews
March 31, 2019
One of the great horror novels. I particularly enjoyed the part where Mary gives herself an occult-themed birthday party beneath the full moon, with the zoo's entire snake population in attendance. Oh yeah, and the Lord Snake turns out to be her "first cousin once removed."
June 2, 2021
"I’ll stay till the wind changes," she said.The naughty Banks siblings (having just ran off their previous nanny) are in for the surprise of a lifetime.
Their new nanny, Mary Poppins, is quite unlike anything they've ever seen. She slides up banisters, uses a compass to travel the world, talks to dogs and buys them gingerbread from stores that aren't even there. In short, she's perfect.
“Mary Poppins,” he cried, “you’ll never leave us, will you?”Reading about Mary Poppins - nanny extraordinaire - lead to quite the revelation. I feel like everything I have ever known has shifted.
Poppins is sassy, snarky and sarcastic. Honestly, I'm still reeling.
The movies portrays her as the epitome of grace, poise and control. Little did I know that her book version was quite different.
Mary Poppins was very vain and liked to look her best. Indeed, she was quite sure that she never looked anything else.Book and movie version of her does have a few things in common. She still manages to effortlessly raise the children and take them on grand adventures. And (of course), we still have her infamous carpet-bag:
“Nothing in it, did you say?” And with that she took out from the empty bag a starched white apron and tied it round her waist. Next she unpacked a large cake of Sunlight Soap, a toothbrush, a packet of hairpins, a bottle of scent, a small folding armchair and a box of throat lozenges.Maybe it's because I'm so used to perfectly-perfect Poppins that when I read the book version, I was more than a little shocked. And I loved it.
I wish the movie version was truer to the book.
Nothing was more satisfying than when the kids served up sass, Poppins dished it back twice as hard.
Audiobook Comments
Read by Sophie Thompson - and she absolutely rocked this narration. It made the book so much better to listen to such an enthusiastic reader. I loved the way she adopted all the voices for the characters. Truly a joy!!
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September 22, 2021
Story of the world's most beloved nanny, Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins #1), P.L. Travers
Pamela Lyndon Travers OBE (born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-British writer who spent most of her career in England. She is best known for the Mary Poppins series of books, which feature the eponymous magical nanny.
Mary Poppins is a series of eight children's books written by P. L. Travers and published over the period 1934 to 1988.
Mary Shepard was the illustrator throughout the series.
The books center on the magical English nanny Mary Poppins, who is blown by the East wind to Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, and into the Banks's household to care for their children.
Encounters with pavement-painters and shopkeepers, and various adventures ensue, until Mary Poppins abruptly leaves—i.e., "pops-out".
Only the first three of the eight books feature Mary Poppins arriving and leaving.
The later five books recount previously unrecorded adventures from her original three visits. As P. L. Travers explains in her introduction to Mary Poppins in the Park, "She cannot forever arrive and depart."
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: پانزدهم ماه می سال 1974میلادی
عنوان: مری پاپینز؛ نویسنده: پاملا لیندون تراورز؛ مترجم: مهشید امیرشاهی؛ تصورگر مری شپرد؛ تهران، علمی فرهنگی، چاپ سوم 1383، در 91ص؛ شابک 9644455819؛ چاپ چهارم 1386؛ موضوع داستانهای کودکان از نویسندگان استرالیا - سده 20م
آقای «بنکس»، به دنبال پرستار تازه ای برای فرزندانش، «جین» و «مایکل»، میگردد، او یک آگهی مینویسد، که در آن مشخصات یک پرستار جدی قید شده است؛ «جین» و «مایکل» نیز، آگهی پرستار رؤیایی خودشان را، که باید فردی مهربان، و دوستدار بازی با آنها باشد را، مینویسند، اما پدرشان آگهی آنها را پاره کرده، و در شومینه میاندازد؛ تکه های کاغذ، از فراز دودکش به پرواز درمیآیند، و به دست «مری پاپینز» که در روی ابرها زندگی میکند، میرسند؛ «مری پاپینز» به خانه ی آقای «بنکس» میرود، و پرستاری از بچه ها را، میپذیرد؛ آقای «بنکس»، به شدت درگیر کار است، و دیگر وقتی برای فرزندانش ندارد؛ خانم «بنکس» هم، برای احقاق حقوق زنان تلاش میکند؛ در این میان بچه ها با «مری پاپینز»، و دودکش پاک کن همه فنحریفی به نام: «برت»، دوران خوش و پرماجرایی را، میگذارنند، شعر میخوانند، و به دنیای نقاشیها، سفر میکنند
نقل از کتاب «مری پاپینز»: (روز گردش: خانم «بنکس» گفت: «هر سه پنجشنبه یکبار، ساعت دو تا پنج.»؛ «مری پاپینز» نگاه سختگیرانه ای به او کرد و گفت: «خانم، خانواده های سطح بالا، هر دو پنجشنبه یکبار، ساعت یک تا شش، مرخصی میدهند؛ یا این وقت را باید داشته باشم یا...»؛
مری پاپینز مکث کرد، و خانم «بنکس» معنی این مکث را میدانست؛ معنی اش این بود، که اگر ـمری پاپینز» به خواسته اش نمیرسید، آنجا را ترک می��رد؛ خانم «بنکس» با عجله گفت: «خیلی خب، خیلی خب.»؛
دلش نمیخواست «مری پاپینز»، درباره ی خانواده های سطح بالا، بیشتر از خودِ او چیزی بداند؛ به این ترتیب «مری پاپینز»، دستکشهای سفیدش را پوشید، و چترش را زیر بغلش گذاشت؛ نه اینکه هوا بارانی باشد، بلکه به دلیل آنکه، دسته ی چتر، آنقدر زیبا بود، که امکان نداشت آن را، توی خانه جا بگذارد؛ اگر دسته ی چترِ خودِ شما، به شکلِ سرِ یک طوطی باشد، هیچوقت آن را جا میگذارید؟ گذشته از این، «مری پاپینز» دوست داشت همیشه در نظر دیگران، بسیار عالی باشد؛ در واقع او کاملاً مطمئن بود، که هیچوقت غیر از این نخواهد بود.؛
جین از پنجره ی اتاق بچه ها، برایش دست تکان داد، و فریاد زد: «کجا میروی؟»؛
مری پاپینز جواب داد: «لطفاً آن پنجره را ببند.»؛
و کله ی «جین» به سرعت توی پنجره، ناپدید شد؛
مری پاپینز، از راهِ باریکِ میانِ باغ گذشت، و دروازه را باز کرد؛ وقتی وارد کوچه شد، قدمهایش را تندتر کرد؛ انگار میترسید اگر پا به پای بعد از ظهر حرکت نکند، روز از چنگش فرار کند؛ سر نبشِ کوچه، به راست پیچید، بعد به چپ؛ مغرورانه، برای پلیس سر تکان داد؛ پلیس به او روز به خیر گفت، و اینگونه بود که روز گردش او آغاز شد
کنار یک اتومبیلِ خالی ایستاد؛ تصویرِ خودش را، در شیشه ی آن دید؛ کلاهش را مرتب کرد؛ بعد کتش را صاف کرد، و چترش را محکمتر زیر بغلش گرفت، تا همه بتوانند دسته ی آن، یا به عبارت بهتر، همان طوطی را ببینند؛ بعد از همه ی این مقدمات، جلو رفت تا مرد کبریت فروش را ببیند
مرد کبریت فروش، دو شغل داشت؛ او، هم کبریت میفروخت، و هم روی پیاده رو نقاشی میکشید، و کارهایش را بسته به نوع آب و هوا، تغییر میداد؛ وقتی هوا بارانی بود، کبریت میفروخت؛ چون اگر نقاشی میکشید، باران تمام نقاشیهایش را میشست؛ وقتی هوا آفتابی بود، تمام روز دو زانو مینشست، و با گچ رنگی، روی پیاده رو، نقاشی میکرد، و آنقدر سریع آن کار را میکرد، که اغلب، قبل از اینکه به سر پیچ خیابان برسید، او را میدیدید، که یک پیاده رو را تمام کرده، و به سراغ پیاده رو دیگر رفته است.)؛ پایان نقل
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 26/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 30/06/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Pamela Lyndon Travers OBE (born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-British writer who spent most of her career in England. She is best known for the Mary Poppins series of books, which feature the eponymous magical nanny.
Mary Poppins is a series of eight children's books written by P. L. Travers and published over the period 1934 to 1988.
Mary Shepard was the illustrator throughout the series.
The books center on the magical English nanny Mary Poppins, who is blown by the East wind to Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, and into the Banks's household to care for their children.
Encounters with pavement-painters and shopkeepers, and various adventures ensue, until Mary Poppins abruptly leaves—i.e., "pops-out".
Only the first three of the eight books feature Mary Poppins arriving and leaving.
The later five books recount previously unrecorded adventures from her original three visits. As P. L. Travers explains in her introduction to Mary Poppins in the Park, "She cannot forever arrive and depart."
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: پانزدهم ماه می سال 1974میلادی
عنوان: مری پاپینز؛ نویسنده: پاملا لیندون تراورز؛ مترجم: مهشید امیرشاهی؛ تصورگر مری شپرد؛ تهران، علمی فرهنگی، چاپ سوم 1383، در 91ص؛ شابک 9644455819؛ چاپ چهارم 1386؛ موضوع داستانهای کودکان از نویسندگان استرالیا - سده 20م
آقای «بنکس»، به دنبال پرستار تازه ای برای فرزندانش، «جین» و «مایکل»، میگردد، او یک آگهی مینویسد، که در آن مشخصات یک پرستار جدی قید شده است؛ «جین» و «مایکل» نیز، آگهی پرستار رؤیایی خودشان را، که باید فردی مهربان، و دوستدار بازی با آنها باشد را، مینویسند، اما پدرشان آگهی آنها را پاره کرده، و در شومینه میاندازد؛ تکه های کاغذ، از فراز دودکش به پرواز درمیآیند، و به دست «مری پاپینز» که در روی ابرها زندگی میکند، میرسند؛ «مری پاپینز» به خانه ی آقای «بنکس» میرود، و پرستاری از بچه ها را، میپذیرد؛ آقای «بنکس»، به شدت درگیر کار است، و دیگر وقتی برای فرزندانش ندارد؛ خانم «بنکس» هم، برای احقاق حقوق زنان تلاش میکند؛ در این میان بچه ها با «مری پاپینز»، و دودکش پاک کن همه فنحریفی به نام: «برت»، دوران خوش و پرماجرایی را، میگذارنند، شعر میخوانند، و به دنیای نقاشیها، سفر میکنند
نقل از کتاب «مری پاپینز»: (روز گردش: خانم «بنکس» گفت: «هر سه پنجشنبه یکبار، ساعت دو تا پنج.»؛ «مری پاپینز» نگاه سختگیرانه ای به او کرد و گفت: «خانم، خانواده های سطح بالا، هر دو پنجشنبه یکبار، ساعت یک تا شش، مرخصی میدهند؛ یا این وقت را باید داشته باشم یا...»؛
مری پاپینز مکث کرد، و خانم «بنکس» معنی این مکث را میدانست؛ معنی اش این بود، که اگر ـمری پاپینز» به خواسته اش نمیرسید، آنجا را ترک می��رد؛ خانم «بنکس» با عجله گفت: «خیلی خب، خیلی خب.»؛
دلش نمیخواست «مری پاپینز»، درباره ی خانواده های سطح بالا، بیشتر از خودِ او چیزی بداند؛ به این ترتیب «مری پاپینز»، دستکشهای سفیدش را پوشید، و چترش را زیر بغلش گذاشت؛ نه اینکه هوا بارانی باشد، بلکه به دلیل آنکه، دسته ی چتر، آنقدر زیبا بود، که امکان نداشت آن را، توی خانه جا بگذارد؛ اگر دسته ی چترِ خودِ شما، به شکلِ سرِ یک طوطی باشد، هیچوقت آن را جا میگذارید؟ گذشته از این، «مری پاپینز» دوست داشت همیشه در نظر دیگران، بسیار عالی باشد؛ در واقع او کاملاً مطمئن بود، که هیچوقت غیر از این نخواهد بود.؛
جین از پنجره ی اتاق بچه ها، برایش دست تکان داد، و فریاد زد: «کجا میروی؟»؛
مری پاپینز جواب داد: «لطفاً آن پنجره را ببند.»؛
و کله ی «جین» به سرعت توی پنجره، ناپدید شد؛
مری پاپینز، از راهِ باریکِ میانِ باغ گذشت، و دروازه را باز کرد؛ وقتی وارد کوچه شد، قدمهایش را تندتر کرد؛ انگار میترسید اگر پا به پای بعد از ظهر حرکت نکند، روز از چنگش فرار کند؛ سر نبشِ کوچه، به راست پیچید، بعد به چپ؛ مغرورانه، برای پلیس سر تکان داد؛ پلیس به او روز به خیر گفت، و اینگونه بود که روز گردش او آغاز شد
کنار یک اتومبیلِ خالی ایستاد؛ تصویرِ خودش را، در شیشه ی آن دید؛ کلاهش را مرتب کرد؛ بعد کتش را صاف کرد، و چترش را محکمتر زیر بغلش گرفت، تا همه بتوانند دسته ی آن، یا به عبارت بهتر، همان طوطی را ببینند؛ بعد از همه ی این مقدمات، جلو رفت تا مرد کبریت فروش را ببیند
مرد کبریت فروش، دو شغل داشت؛ او، هم کبریت میفروخت، و هم روی پیاده رو نقاشی میکشید، و کارهایش را بسته به نوع آب و هوا، تغییر میداد؛ وقتی هوا بارانی بود، کبریت میفروخت؛ چون اگر نقاشی میکشید، باران تمام نقاشیهایش را میشست؛ وقتی هوا آفتابی بود، تمام روز دو زانو مینشست، و با گچ رنگی، روی پیاده رو، نقاشی میکرد، و آنقدر سریع آن کار را میکرد، که اغلب، قبل از اینکه به سر پیچ خیابان برسید، او را میدیدید، که یک پیاده رو را تمام کرده، و به سراغ پیاده رو دیگر رفته است.)؛ پایان نقل
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 26/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 30/06/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
January 1, 2016
Reread for our classics discussion on the blog! http://www.themidnightgarden.net/2015...
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If you've never read Mary Poppins, you're missing out on one of the great classics of children's literature. It's been a long time since I've read these books that I loved so much as a child, but I immediately felt as though I was visiting with old friends.
The thing of it is, I'm quite sure that I felt this way the very first time I read the book as well. P.L. Travers writes incredibly imaginative stories that tickle the fancy and will surprise even the most jaded reader. Many of the elements and events will be familiar to fans of the very fun Disney film (which did a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the book while making the story their own), such as the chalk picture drawings, tea on the ceiling, and the Bird Woman. But readers also get to experience the magic of gingerbread wrapped in gilt paper stars that later get glued to the night sky, a funny night zoo in which the main attractions are people, the awful Bad Tuesday in which Michael is hateful to everybody because he just can't help it, and the tale of Mrs. Lark's Andrew, a silky little pampered pet who wants nothing more than to be a common dog.
My favorite chapter in this book, however, is the bittersweet story of the twin babies John and Barbara, who delight in talking to the wind and the birds who visit them in their nursery. When they learn that one day they will no longer understand the language of their dearest friends, they weep piteously and are determined that they will never forget and they will never be changed. Not long afterwards, the jeering Starling comes to visit and wheedles a bit of treat from them, but they don't respond.
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Book excerpt:
The Starling stared at her. "Ha!" he said suddenly, and turned and looked inquiringly at Mary Poppins. Her quiet glance met his in a long look.
Then with a darting movement, the Starling flew over over to John's cot and alighted on the rail. John had a large woolly lamb hugged close in his arms. "What's my name? What's my name? What's my name?" cried the Starling in a shrill, anxious voice.
"Er-rumph!" said John, opening his mouth and putting the leg of the woolly lamb into it.
With a little shake of his head the Starling turned away. "So--it's happened," he said quietly to Mary Poppins.
She nodded.
The Staring gazed dejectedly for a moment at the Twins. Then he shrugged his speckled shoulders. "Oh, well--I knew it would. Always told them so. But they wouldn't believe it." He remained silent for a little while, staring into the cots. Then he shook himself vigorously.
"Well, well. I must be off. Back to my chimney. It will need spring cleaning, I'll be bound." He flew on to the window-sill and paused, looking back over his shoulder.
"It'll seem funny without them, though. Always liked talking to them--so I did. I shall miss them." He brushed a wing quickly across his eyes.
--------------------------------------
Written with brisk humor and deep tenderness, it's passages like these that stir a sweet ache in anyone who still longs to respond to the lovely, wondrous call of childhood.
--------------------------------------
If you've never read Mary Poppins, you're missing out on one of the great classics of children's literature. It's been a long time since I've read these books that I loved so much as a child, but I immediately felt as though I was visiting with old friends.
The thing of it is, I'm quite sure that I felt this way the very first time I read the book as well. P.L. Travers writes incredibly imaginative stories that tickle the fancy and will surprise even the most jaded reader. Many of the elements and events will be familiar to fans of the very fun Disney film (which did a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the book while making the story their own), such as the chalk picture drawings, tea on the ceiling, and the Bird Woman. But readers also get to experience the magic of gingerbread wrapped in gilt paper stars that later get glued to the night sky, a funny night zoo in which the main attractions are people, the awful Bad Tuesday in which Michael is hateful to everybody because he just can't help it, and the tale of Mrs. Lark's Andrew, a silky little pampered pet who wants nothing more than to be a common dog.
My favorite chapter in this book, however, is the bittersweet story of the twin babies John and Barbara, who delight in talking to the wind and the birds who visit them in their nursery. When they learn that one day they will no longer understand the language of their dearest friends, they weep piteously and are determined that they will never forget and they will never be changed. Not long afterwards, the jeering Starling comes to visit and wheedles a bit of treat from them, but they don't respond.
--------------------------------------------------
Book excerpt:
The Starling stared at her. "Ha!" he said suddenly, and turned and looked inquiringly at Mary Poppins. Her quiet glance met his in a long look.
Then with a darting movement, the Starling flew over over to John's cot and alighted on the rail. John had a large woolly lamb hugged close in his arms. "What's my name? What's my name? What's my name?" cried the Starling in a shrill, anxious voice.
"Er-rumph!" said John, opening his mouth and putting the leg of the woolly lamb into it.
With a little shake of his head the Starling turned away. "So--it's happened," he said quietly to Mary Poppins.
She nodded.
The Staring gazed dejectedly for a moment at the Twins. Then he shrugged his speckled shoulders. "Oh, well--I knew it would. Always told them so. But they wouldn't believe it." He remained silent for a little while, staring into the cots. Then he shook himself vigorously.
"Well, well. I must be off. Back to my chimney. It will need spring cleaning, I'll be bound." He flew on to the window-sill and paused, looking back over his shoulder.
"It'll seem funny without them, though. Always liked talking to them--so I did. I shall miss them." He brushed a wing quickly across his eyes.
--------------------------------------
Written with brisk humor and deep tenderness, it's passages like these that stir a sweet ache in anyone who still longs to respond to the lovely, wondrous call of childhood.
October 12, 2007
OK, here's the thing: P.L. Travers's Mary Poppins is not Walt Disney's Mary Poppins. Weirdly, I love both versions equally, although Travers's portrayal of adult-child relationships is more accurate, I think. In the book, the kids clearly inhabit a fantasy world of which their parents are completely oblivious. Mary Poppins, an acid-tongued nanny, serves as a conduit to these fantasy worlds, which are often quite dangerous. Under Mary's protection, the Banks children explore some dark, glorious worlds, then are safely transported back home.
Unlike Disney, Travers doesn't try to reconcile the kids to their parents. As far as she's concerned, they inhabit two different worlds, and shouldn't be encourged to mix them. And you know what? She's right.
For the record, I do love the movie Mary Poppins, with its gorgeous costumes and sets, not to mention brilliant performances by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. This is one of the rare cases, like Walkabout, when a movie studio had a diametrically opposed idea of the author's vision, yet managed to create a work of art in the process. Compare and contrast the two and tell me what you think in a 20-page, double spaced essay, and don't forget the footnotes.
Unlike Disney, Travers doesn't try to reconcile the kids to their parents. As far as she's concerned, they inhabit two different worlds, and shouldn't be encourged to mix them. And you know what? She's right.
For the record, I do love the movie Mary Poppins, with its gorgeous costumes and sets, not to mention brilliant performances by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. This is one of the rare cases, like Walkabout, when a movie studio had a diametrically opposed idea of the author's vision, yet managed to create a work of art in the process. Compare and contrast the two and tell me what you think in a 20-page, double spaced essay, and don't forget the footnotes.
May 29, 2018
I have been thinking long and hard about my review for Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers… This book was all wrong and not what i had expected it to be and i would like to share my thoughts and feelings with you. So lets all sit back, relax, and talk Poppins… As the movie version ofMary Poppins would say...
Spit spot and off we go…
First lets start with the summary… Mary Poppins by P.L Travers takes place in England on the street Cherry Tree Lane... Inside 173 Cherry Tree lane holds a family of six Mr and Mrs. Banks and their children Jane, Barabra, Micheal, and John Banks. These children are in need of a nanny so of course thats how Mary Poppins just so happens their unexciteing and quiet lives and turns unexciteing into adventure. Mary Poppins lead the children on all kinds of adventures but my personal favorite was their trip around the world. Many adventures with this women were taken but Mary Poppins always seemed to deny that they ever happened which sometimes put them on edge. I don't want to give you so much of a summary considering we still have a long way to go. I will add this though at the end of the story Mary Poppins opens up her little unbrella and with her carpet bag in her hand the winds of the west takes her away leaveing the banks family with no nanny.
Now i want to move all my thoughts down to the main character herself… Yes i am talking about the one and only Mary Poppins. This women was multiple things the first thing is that she had a problem with vanity which i was taught was not okay and i am not going to lie i had that problem as well.... Looking at myself in the mirior for to long and talking to myself about how beautiful i am was never my problem… Mine mostly came to lots of selfies taken a day and saveing them on my camera but we ar not here to talk about myin the past vanity problem we are here to talk about Mary Poppins… In the chapter titled "Christmas Shoping" Micheal asks Mary Poppins if they could look into the store windows to see some toys. Mary Poppins did say yes but she only said it so that she could admire herself threw the window. This really made me feel uncomfortable because here is this women possibly in her late thirties standing in the toy store window and talking to her reflection. Mary Poppins was also very cross and mean… This is not the women i would want to hire to watch my children. Most of the time Mary Poppins was treating Jane and Micheal as her younger brother and sister instead of children she was supposed to be nannying and this made me rol my eyes and chuckle a little bit. Jane and Micheal were one time even afraid to get in her way because she was often so cross.
Where was Bert in this story? Where was our good looking image of Dick Van Dyke? Who had a crush on Dick Van Dyke in the movie? I know i did and i also think Freddy Highmore is a pretty good looking, hot babe as well… Anyways Freddy was not in the movie and i am not here to talk hollywood relationships with you although feel free to chat with me if you love pop culture. Bert only showed up twice in the bok he was mentioned once and he got to imagine him once which was kind of disapointing because the book could really have useome of his chim chimmney spirit.
I found this book dark sometimes because i personaly think that whenever Mary Poppins gets cross then she gets scary. I did not like her attitiude and i did not like her personally. She was no swet and beautiful Julie Andrews peoples in fact she was called ugly multiple times… Yes the movie version of Mary Poppins was firm but as she clearly stated she never became cross... P.L. Travers version became extremly cross as i have already mentioned multiple times.
Jane and Micheal in my opinion were not well bred kids… They liked to back talk and were pests many times in the story from Micheal and his naughtyness and Jane and al her questions and corrections and sometimes i did not blame Mary Poppins for going off on them. I don't remember John and Barabra being in the film so it was kind of hard to imagine two other children in the Banks family. Walt Disney really made a lot of changes in his film and if you have seen the film "Saveing Mr. Banks" then you know how hard Ms. Travers was to work with.
This bolok was not as enjoyable for me as i had hoped… Whenever i got it on ebook at the library i was truly excited to read but as i opened and read the first chapter i knew that i was going to have a problem. This book was not a book instead it was a lullaby considering it nearly put me to sleep at least once every chapter. I rate Mary Poppins with three stars after careful consideration i thought about the rateing as i was going to my grandmothers and as i was bakeing a cake… *Warning: Don't ever bake and think because i nearly put three cups of sugar in my cake and grandmother had to remind me that there was only two.*
I think that if i would have read this book whenever i was younger thwn i would have simplyed adored it but being eighteen i just thought it was ridiclious and unrealistic and trying to finish it was a struggle. Mary Poppins leaveing the Banks house made me very upset because she just ditched the children in their nursery and decided to leave but it also caught my heart to see her go because where are you going to find another Mary Poppins?
My Rateing
3/5
Spit spot and off we go…
First lets start with the summary… Mary Poppins by P.L Travers takes place in England on the street Cherry Tree Lane... Inside 173 Cherry Tree lane holds a family of six Mr and Mrs. Banks and their children Jane, Barabra, Micheal, and John Banks. These children are in need of a nanny so of course thats how Mary Poppins just so happens their unexciteing and quiet lives and turns unexciteing into adventure. Mary Poppins lead the children on all kinds of adventures but my personal favorite was their trip around the world. Many adventures with this women were taken but Mary Poppins always seemed to deny that they ever happened which sometimes put them on edge. I don't want to give you so much of a summary considering we still have a long way to go. I will add this though at the end of the story Mary Poppins opens up her little unbrella and with her carpet bag in her hand the winds of the west takes her away leaveing the banks family with no nanny.
Now i want to move all my thoughts down to the main character herself… Yes i am talking about the one and only Mary Poppins. This women was multiple things the first thing is that she had a problem with vanity which i was taught was not okay and i am not going to lie i had that problem as well.... Looking at myself in the mirior for to long and talking to myself about how beautiful i am was never my problem… Mine mostly came to lots of selfies taken a day and saveing them on my camera but we ar not here to talk about myin the past vanity problem we are here to talk about Mary Poppins… In the chapter titled "Christmas Shoping" Micheal asks Mary Poppins if they could look into the store windows to see some toys. Mary Poppins did say yes but she only said it so that she could admire herself threw the window. This really made me feel uncomfortable because here is this women possibly in her late thirties standing in the toy store window and talking to her reflection. Mary Poppins was also very cross and mean… This is not the women i would want to hire to watch my children. Most of the time Mary Poppins was treating Jane and Micheal as her younger brother and sister instead of children she was supposed to be nannying and this made me rol my eyes and chuckle a little bit. Jane and Micheal were one time even afraid to get in her way because she was often so cross.
Where was Bert in this story? Where was our good looking image of Dick Van Dyke? Who had a crush on Dick Van Dyke in the movie? I know i did and i also think Freddy Highmore is a pretty good looking, hot babe as well… Anyways Freddy was not in the movie and i am not here to talk hollywood relationships with you although feel free to chat with me if you love pop culture. Bert only showed up twice in the bok he was mentioned once and he got to imagine him once which was kind of disapointing because the book could really have useome of his chim chimmney spirit.
I found this book dark sometimes because i personaly think that whenever Mary Poppins gets cross then she gets scary. I did not like her attitiude and i did not like her personally. She was no swet and beautiful Julie Andrews peoples in fact she was called ugly multiple times… Yes the movie version of Mary Poppins was firm but as she clearly stated she never became cross... P.L. Travers version became extremly cross as i have already mentioned multiple times.
Jane and Micheal in my opinion were not well bred kids… They liked to back talk and were pests many times in the story from Micheal and his naughtyness and Jane and al her questions and corrections and sometimes i did not blame Mary Poppins for going off on them. I don't remember John and Barabra being in the film so it was kind of hard to imagine two other children in the Banks family. Walt Disney really made a lot of changes in his film and if you have seen the film "Saveing Mr. Banks" then you know how hard Ms. Travers was to work with.
This bolok was not as enjoyable for me as i had hoped… Whenever i got it on ebook at the library i was truly excited to read but as i opened and read the first chapter i knew that i was going to have a problem. This book was not a book instead it was a lullaby considering it nearly put me to sleep at least once every chapter. I rate Mary Poppins with three stars after careful consideration i thought about the rateing as i was going to my grandmothers and as i was bakeing a cake… *Warning: Don't ever bake and think because i nearly put three cups of sugar in my cake and grandmother had to remind me that there was only two.*
I think that if i would have read this book whenever i was younger thwn i would have simplyed adored it but being eighteen i just thought it was ridiclious and unrealistic and trying to finish it was a struggle. Mary Poppins leaveing the Banks house made me very upset because she just ditched the children in their nursery and decided to leave but it also caught my heart to see her go because where are you going to find another Mary Poppins?
My Rateing
3/5
February 15, 2019
Wicked and wonderful in equal measure! Any way you choose to view it - a magical woman brings whimsy to the Banks' house, a sadistic 'good' witch gaslights a couple of children, or the Banks kids have wild imaginations bordering on insanity - P.L. Travers' classic tale of a priggish and peculiar stranger floating to Number Seventeen, Cherry-Tree Lane to nanny some children and stir things up is just good fun.
The wind, with a wild cry, slipped under the umbrella, pressing it upwards as though trying to force it out of Mary Poppins's hand. But she held on tightly, and that, apparently, was what the wind wanted her to do, for presently it lifted the umbrella higher into the air and Mary Poppins from the ground. It carried her lightly so that her toes just grazed along the garden path. Then it lifted her over the front gate and swept her upwards towards the branches of the cherry-trees in the Lane.
October 11, 2020
This past week we have been watching Mary Poppins with the kids - their first time! They have been loving it! While looking for something to listen to on Audible, I saw that the original P.L. Travers book was available. Seemed like the perfect time to give this one a shot.
In some ways it is similar to the movie, in most ways it is different. I like the movie better, but that might be because I am so familiar with it and it's classic music that it was hard for it to to not come out on top. If you are also very familiar with the movie I am pretty sure you will have a similar experience.
Like the movie, the book is a series of short stories highlighting the Banks children's adventures with Mary Poppins. And while there are a few of the same lines and some similar plot points, most of the little anecdotes are different and much more far fetched and bizarre. If you thought the movie was trippy, the book takes it to the next level!
Should you read this? Maybe - if for no other reason than checking out the source material for the movie. But, I think Disney did it a lot of justice and I don't think it would be a book we would be aware of without that influence; I am not sure how well it would have stood on its own.
In some ways it is similar to the movie, in most ways it is different. I like the movie better, but that might be because I am so familiar with it and it's classic music that it was hard for it to to not come out on top. If you are also very familiar with the movie I am pretty sure you will have a similar experience.
Like the movie, the book is a series of short stories highlighting the Banks children's adventures with Mary Poppins. And while there are a few of the same lines and some similar plot points, most of the little anecdotes are different and much more far fetched and bizarre. If you thought the movie was trippy, the book takes it to the next level!
Should you read this? Maybe - if for no other reason than checking out the source material for the movie. But, I think Disney did it a lot of justice and I don't think it would be a book we would be aware of without that influence; I am not sure how well it would have stood on its own.
March 28, 2019
For the Celebrity Death Match Review Tournament, Pride and Prejudice (1) versus Mary Poppins (32)
NARRATOR: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an impecunious father with four unmarried daughters is in urgent need of a magic nanny. And so it came to pass that Miss Mary Poppins took up residence in the Bennet household...
Scene 1
[Breakfast at the Bennets. The four sisters are laughing, talking loudly, reaching after toast etc]
MARY POPPINS: Lydia, don't slouch! Slouching is generally regarded as unbecoming in a young woman. Kitty, elbows off the table. And Lizzie, Mr. Collins is here and would like to speak with you. Alone.
[Everyone rapidly exits except LIZZIE and MARY POPPINS, who has unaccountably remained in her seat. Enter MR COLLINS]
MR COLLINS: Ah, Miss Bennet, I am sure that what I am about to say will come as a great surprise to you, given the difference in our respective social situations. Nevertheless...
LIZZIE: The answer is no.
MR COLLINS: I beg your pardon, Miss Bennet, but, since I have not yet posed my question, it is clearly impossible for you to answer it. What I was about to say...
LIZZIE: The answer is no, I don't want to marry you. I'd rather poison myself.
MARY POPPINS: Now Lizzie, you ought to think about this more carefully. [Music starts up in background] In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun! And suddenly - snap! - the job's a game! Then every task you undertake, becomes a piece of cake, a laugh, a spree, it's very clear to see, that a spooonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, the medicine go down, the medicine go down...
[A glazed, hypnotised look has descended on LIZZIE's face. Like a sleepwalker, she hears herself say]
LIZZIE: In fact, Mr. Collins, I have reconsidered. I believe I will marry you after all.
MR COLLINS: I am pleased to hear it! Though, I must confess that I am less certain how Lady Catherine de Bourgh will take the news.
[The rest of the BENNET family, along with several animated dancing penguins, have entered and are embracing and congratulating the newly engaged couple]
Scene 2
[MR DARCY and MARY POPPINS. MR DARCY is pacing back and forward, evidently the prey of strong emotions]
MR DARCY: I know this will sound absurd, but I felt quite discomfited when I heard that Miss Bennet had married that ridiculous clergyman. I readily admit that I found her headstrong, opinionated, objectionable in the extreme. And yet... ah, I know not what it is that I wish to say. What does one say when there is nothing to say?
MARY POPPINS: Well, I'd like to point out that Miss Bennet isn't the only headstrong, opinionated, objectionable young woman in the neighborhood. And when there is nothing to say, there is one word that often comes in handy [music starts up again] ... It's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious! If you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
[The same glazed, hypnotised look has settled on MR DARCY]
MR DARCY: You have a point. Miss Poppins, will you marry me?
[We suddenly notice that LIZZIE is listening through the keyhole. She has a large bottle marked "Poison" in her hand]
MARY POPPINS: I will.
[LIZZIE takes a good swig from the bottle, clutches her throat and keels over dead. No one notices]
MR DARCY: I can hardly believe it, Mary! You will be mine... forever!
MARY POPPINS: Oh no, not forever. Only until the wind changes.
Match point: Mary Poppins
NARRATOR: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that an impecunious father with four unmarried daughters is in urgent need of a magic nanny. And so it came to pass that Miss Mary Poppins took up residence in the Bennet household...
Scene 1
[Breakfast at the Bennets. The four sisters are laughing, talking loudly, reaching after toast etc]
MARY POPPINS: Lydia, don't slouch! Slouching is generally regarded as unbecoming in a young woman. Kitty, elbows off the table. And Lizzie, Mr. Collins is here and would like to speak with you. Alone.
[Everyone rapidly exits except LIZZIE and MARY POPPINS, who has unaccountably remained in her seat. Enter MR COLLINS]
MR COLLINS: Ah, Miss Bennet, I am sure that what I am about to say will come as a great surprise to you, given the difference in our respective social situations. Nevertheless...
LIZZIE: The answer is no.
MR COLLINS: I beg your pardon, Miss Bennet, but, since I have not yet posed my question, it is clearly impossible for you to answer it. What I was about to say...
LIZZIE: The answer is no, I don't want to marry you. I'd rather poison myself.
MARY POPPINS: Now Lizzie, you ought to think about this more carefully. [Music starts up in background] In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun! And suddenly - snap! - the job's a game! Then every task you undertake, becomes a piece of cake, a laugh, a spree, it's very clear to see, that a spooonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, the medicine go down, the medicine go down...
[A glazed, hypnotised look has descended on LIZZIE's face. Like a sleepwalker, she hears herself say]
LIZZIE: In fact, Mr. Collins, I have reconsidered. I believe I will marry you after all.
MR COLLINS: I am pleased to hear it! Though, I must confess that I am less certain how Lady Catherine de Bourgh will take the news.
[The rest of the BENNET family, along with several animated dancing penguins, have entered and are embracing and congratulating the newly engaged couple]
Scene 2
[MR DARCY and MARY POPPINS. MR DARCY is pacing back and forward, evidently the prey of strong emotions]
MR DARCY: I know this will sound absurd, but I felt quite discomfited when I heard that Miss Bennet had married that ridiculous clergyman. I readily admit that I found her headstrong, opinionated, objectionable in the extreme. And yet... ah, I know not what it is that I wish to say. What does one say when there is nothing to say?
MARY POPPINS: Well, I'd like to point out that Miss Bennet isn't the only headstrong, opinionated, objectionable young woman in the neighborhood. And when there is nothing to say, there is one word that often comes in handy [music starts up again] ... It's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious! If you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
[The same glazed, hypnotised look has settled on MR DARCY]
MR DARCY: You have a point. Miss Poppins, will you marry me?
[We suddenly notice that LIZZIE is listening through the keyhole. She has a large bottle marked "Poison" in her hand]
MARY POPPINS: I will.
[LIZZIE takes a good swig from the bottle, clutches her throat and keels over dead. No one notices]
MR DARCY: I can hardly believe it, Mary! You will be mine... forever!
MARY POPPINS: Oh no, not forever. Only until the wind changes.
Match point: Mary Poppins
March 11, 2018
Wait. . . hold on. . . Mary Poppins is snarky?
You mean. . . she doesn't have rosy cheeks, a fresh shimmer of newly applied lipstick, or break out into overly saccharine songs?
She's not Julie Andrews?!
Okay, let me make the mental adjustment and open my heart to this edgy Plain Jane nanny who uses an early version of Jedi mind control to persuade her new employers to increase her pay and give her extra time off. Pisses off most of the people around her, too.
Let me wave goodbye to A Spoonful of Sugar and instead embrace P.L. Travers's original version of Mary:
All day long Mary Poppins had been in a hurry, and when she was in a hurry she was always cross. . . Jane and Michael kept out of her way as much as possible, for they knew that there were times when it was better not to be seen or heard by Mary Poppins.
A heart of stone, that's what that girl had. . . Always keeping to herself, too. . . How we stood her so long, I don't know—with her airs and graces and all.
Mary Poppins is mysterious; even the original movie (which the author greatly disliked) hints at that. She can communicate with animals and flies in and out with the wind, but what you learn from the book is that her creator, Ms. Travers, never had a beautifully coiffured Julie Andrews in mind as she wrote her.
It is also clear that Ms. Travers, as she wrote this book prior to 1934, wasn't much disposed to research. When she takes her young charges on a swift ride around the world with a magical compass, we learn that all residents of China walk the streets on ordinary days in their finest garments and silk shoes, bowing and saying things like, “Confucius say. . .”
And that, in Africa, the natives talk like this:
Ah bin 'specting you a long time, Mar' Poppins. . . You bring dem chillun dere into ma li'l house for a slice of water-melon right now. My, but dem's very white babies. You wan' use a li'l bit black boot polish on dem. Come 'long now. You'se mighty welcome.
Just typing that made me cringe. Why the natives of Africa in the 1930s speak like stereotyped slaves in 1850 in the American South, I'll never know, but, thankfully, this inaccurate cultural stereotyping occurs only in the one chapter entitled “Bad Tuesday.” I believe this mistake was caused by ignorance rather than mean-spiritedness, which was the only reason I was able to carry on and finish this read.
Weird chapter aside, I liked this Mary Poppins. I'm not sure I'd enjoy her as my employee, but both the fictional children in the story and my own real children at home liked her sassiness and quirky style.
When she allows a westerly wind to sweep her, her umbrella, and her carpet bag away, you feel regret at your goodbye.
You're not even sure why.
You mean. . . she doesn't have rosy cheeks, a fresh shimmer of newly applied lipstick, or break out into overly saccharine songs?
She's not Julie Andrews?!
Okay, let me make the mental adjustment and open my heart to this edgy Plain Jane nanny who uses an early version of Jedi mind control to persuade her new employers to increase her pay and give her extra time off. Pisses off most of the people around her, too.
Let me wave goodbye to A Spoonful of Sugar and instead embrace P.L. Travers's original version of Mary:
All day long Mary Poppins had been in a hurry, and when she was in a hurry she was always cross. . . Jane and Michael kept out of her way as much as possible, for they knew that there were times when it was better not to be seen or heard by Mary Poppins.
A heart of stone, that's what that girl had. . . Always keeping to herself, too. . . How we stood her so long, I don't know—with her airs and graces and all.
Mary Poppins is mysterious; even the original movie (which the author greatly disliked) hints at that. She can communicate with animals and flies in and out with the wind, but what you learn from the book is that her creator, Ms. Travers, never had a beautifully coiffured Julie Andrews in mind as she wrote her.
It is also clear that Ms. Travers, as she wrote this book prior to 1934, wasn't much disposed to research. When she takes her young charges on a swift ride around the world with a magical compass, we learn that all residents of China walk the streets on ordinary days in their finest garments and silk shoes, bowing and saying things like, “Confucius say. . .”
And that, in Africa, the natives talk like this:
Ah bin 'specting you a long time, Mar' Poppins. . . You bring dem chillun dere into ma li'l house for a slice of water-melon right now. My, but dem's very white babies. You wan' use a li'l bit black boot polish on dem. Come 'long now. You'se mighty welcome.
Just typing that made me cringe. Why the natives of Africa in the 1930s speak like stereotyped slaves in 1850 in the American South, I'll never know, but, thankfully, this inaccurate cultural stereotyping occurs only in the one chapter entitled “Bad Tuesday.” I believe this mistake was caused by ignorance rather than mean-spiritedness, which was the only reason I was able to carry on and finish this read.
Weird chapter aside, I liked this Mary Poppins. I'm not sure I'd enjoy her as my employee, but both the fictional children in the story and my own real children at home liked her sassiness and quirky style.
When she allows a westerly wind to sweep her, her umbrella, and her carpet bag away, you feel regret at your goodbye.
You're not even sure why.
March 30, 2019
There is no real magic in Mary Poppins' carpet bag or in her medicine, actually!
It is all about her modern pedagogy, I just realised. Have you ever tried to create a lesson out of nothing? (And, like Travers, I really mean no-thing-ness!) You start with kids claiming there is absolutely NO-THING INTERESTING in that carpet bag of yours, your subject. What can you do but shake it and turn it and show those kids that just because they don't see anything that doesn't mean it doesn't contain plenty of quite necessary things, and some nice luxury articles as well?
The trick is to make them envious of the things you discover in your carpet bag, and they will want one of their own.
Same goes for the medicine. Rum punch might be a hard sell nowadays, but surely there are medicines that taste like Coke and contain all the nutrients of a healthy lunch? If you have never sat through a meal with toddlers telling them that cucumbers are candy, you may have none of the Poppins magic - yet. But I am sure the necessity of combining kids and vitamins will catch up with you before the wind changes. Which brings me to the walk in the park. Of course we all jump right into pictures! How else would we continue moving when we have no entertainment but our legs and thoughts? There is an inner movie for each moment spent walking, I believe.
So yes, dear Mary! You are a modern pedagogue if ever there was one. We all need to invent fairytales for ourselves and our kids, to find the inner magic elements that carpet bags and medicine bottles contain - the magic of learning through storytelling.
Firm, with a smile, that's Mary Poppins!
It is all about her modern pedagogy, I just realised. Have you ever tried to create a lesson out of nothing? (And, like Travers, I really mean no-thing-ness!) You start with kids claiming there is absolutely NO-THING INTERESTING in that carpet bag of yours, your subject. What can you do but shake it and turn it and show those kids that just because they don't see anything that doesn't mean it doesn't contain plenty of quite necessary things, and some nice luxury articles as well?
The trick is to make them envious of the things you discover in your carpet bag, and they will want one of their own.
Same goes for the medicine. Rum punch might be a hard sell nowadays, but surely there are medicines that taste like Coke and contain all the nutrients of a healthy lunch? If you have never sat through a meal with toddlers telling them that cucumbers are candy, you may have none of the Poppins magic - yet. But I am sure the necessity of combining kids and vitamins will catch up with you before the wind changes. Which brings me to the walk in the park. Of course we all jump right into pictures! How else would we continue moving when we have no entertainment but our legs and thoughts? There is an inner movie for each moment spent walking, I believe.
So yes, dear Mary! You are a modern pedagogue if ever there was one. We all need to invent fairytales for ourselves and our kids, to find the inner magic elements that carpet bags and medicine bottles contain - the magic of learning through storytelling.
Firm, with a smile, that's Mary Poppins!
December 16, 2013
Like many others, I wanted to read Mary Poppins prior to watching Saving Mr. Banks so that I could see what PL Travers arguments would be about Walt Disney changing her work. I have to say that I am glad that Disney changed it! In the story, Mary Poppins was not a likeable character to me. I just wanted to get through the story to see if she would change any from the vain and frankly, mean, woman that she started out to be. She did not. Usually, I like books better than the movie adaptations, in this case, the movie was a major improvement.
December 10, 2021
3,5/5
Uwielbiam ilustracje Shepard!
Uwielbiam ilustracje Shepard!
January 12, 2023
A more haughty, vain, strict and overall more enigmatic Mary Poppins emerges from the book than from the movie. An interesting read, probably best enjoyed as a child
Mary Poppins was very vain and liked to look her best. Indeed, she was quite sure that she never looked anything else.
In the movies I remember Mary Poppins much less easily offended than here in the book, nor as haughty, vain or stern.
Maybe it’s that she only gets a half day off a month, and that the Banks family has four servants but still manages to complain they are poor.
Stepping into a painting, floating up to the ceiling, talking with animals, a magical compass to instantaneously travel the world, stars that are plastered onto the sky, birthday parties in the zoo at night (with a King Cobra her first cousin once removed): Mary Poppins is far from dull and I see the appeal to the Banks children, largely neglected by their parents.
The magical events kind off give me Studio Ghibli vibes and I was also reminded of both The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Orlando, with Mary Poppins being much more difficult to understand than I expected.
A solid classic of children’s literature by P.L. Travers, in a beautiful edition as well, but I still enjoyed the movie more.
Mary Poppins was very vain and liked to look her best. Indeed, she was quite sure that she never looked anything else.
In the movies I remember Mary Poppins much less easily offended than here in the book, nor as haughty, vain or stern.
Maybe it’s that she only gets a half day off a month, and that the Banks family has four servants but still manages to complain they are poor.
Stepping into a painting, floating up to the ceiling, talking with animals, a magical compass to instantaneously travel the world, stars that are plastered onto the sky, birthday parties in the zoo at night (with a King Cobra her first cousin once removed): Mary Poppins is far from dull and I see the appeal to the Banks children, largely neglected by their parents.
The magical events kind off give me Studio Ghibli vibes and I was also reminded of both The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Orlando, with Mary Poppins being much more difficult to understand than I expected.
A solid classic of children’s literature by P.L. Travers, in a beautiful edition as well, but I still enjoyed the movie more.
May 26, 2020
Bu kitabı Joe Hill'in İtfaiyeci eserinde sıkça gönderme yapıldığı için okudum. Bununla birlikte son zamanlarda okuduğum en kötü kitaptı. Açıkçası okumak bir vakit kaybıydı. Tavsiyem şudur: sakın yanına yaklaşmayın!
I read this book because of references given on the book The Fireman by Joe Hill. However, it was the worst book I've read recently. Apparently, it was just a time waste to read it. My suggestion is that do not get close it.
I read this book because of references given on the book The Fireman by Joe Hill. However, it was the worst book I've read recently. Apparently, it was just a time waste to read it. My suggestion is that do not get close it.
July 30, 2019
3.5 stars. If you're a fan of the old Mary Poppins movie (I am!), the original book is worth checking out. But I didn’t love it as much as I’d hoped. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:
When Katie Nanna disappears from the Banks home without notice, Jane and Michael are pleased (“She was old and fat and smelt of barley-water”). But they’re not quite ready for the replacement nanny that the East Wind blows to their door: Mary Poppins, who promptly intimidates Mrs. Banks into hiring her without references, slides up the banister, pulls a great number of items from her apparently empty carpet bag, and shares magical flavor-changing medicine with Jane and Michael (their baby siblings, John and Barbara, just get milk from the medicine bottle). And so the magical adventures of Mary Poppins and the Banks children begin. Despite her sternness, Michael and Jane soon beg her to never leave, but she only promises to stay until the wind changes.
I was inspired by the movie Saving Mr. Banks to pick up the original 1934 novel of Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. FAR less touchy-feely than Disney’s movie, Mary Poppins in the novel is a surprisingly vain, acerbic, and mysterious woman who regularly snaps at Jane and Michael and gets offended easily, but also takes them on grand magical adventures and wins their devotion.
Mary Poppins is episodic in style: each chapter is a different, stand-alone adventure. Some of their adventures will be familiar if you know the movie, but most were brand-new to me. Bert the Match-Man shows up in Chapter 2, when he and Mary (without the children) jump into one of his chalk sidewalk drawings, but never appears again. Nor are there any penguins, animated or otherwise, or parents who need to reconnect with their family. Mr. and Mrs. Banks appear to be doing just fine, thank you, or if they’re not, no one in this book seems to care.
But there’s a touching chapter about Andrew the dog who, using Mary Poppins as his translator with his owner, insists that his owner Miss Lark accept his friendship with a common street mongrel and welcome him into their home … and, by the way, quit making Andrew go to the hairdresser’s and wear embarrassing overcoats. Another standout is a tender chapter about the 11-month-old twins, John and Barbara, who have a sweet conversation with Mary Poppins, the sunlight that streams into their room, and a visiting Starling. The twins are still young enough to understand and talk with the animals, the sun and the wind talking to them, but their first birthday is fast approaching. There’s a visit to the zoo on the night of the full moon and Mary Poppins' birthday, when the animals can talk and switch places with people, who are in their cages.
There’s also a curious chapter called “Bad Tuesday” in which Michael feels driven to be naughty all day long, but is nevertheless rewarded with a quick magical trip around the globe with Mary Poppins and Jane, visiting with a polar bear, macaw, panda and dolphins at each of the four corners of the world. It’s worth noting that Travers rewrote this chapter after receiving many complaints, replacing the highly stereotypical “Red Indians,” a Chinese Mandarin, Eskimos, and black Africans with non-controversial animals. The original text and some illustrations can be viewed in this online article.
After the premiere of the film version of Mary Poppins, according to Richard Sherman, Travers tracked down Walt Disney at the after-party. A New Yorker article reported their brief exchange:
Mary Poppins, which has seven sequels written by Travers, is dated in its social viewpoints, though that’s understandable for a 1934 novel, and you have to squint to see the plot, but there are many charming and memorable moments.
When Katie Nanna disappears from the Banks home without notice, Jane and Michael are pleased (“She was old and fat and smelt of barley-water”). But they’re not quite ready for the replacement nanny that the East Wind blows to their door: Mary Poppins, who promptly intimidates Mrs. Banks into hiring her without references, slides up the banister, pulls a great number of items from her apparently empty carpet bag, and shares magical flavor-changing medicine with Jane and Michael (their baby siblings, John and Barbara, just get milk from the medicine bottle). And so the magical adventures of Mary Poppins and the Banks children begin. Despite her sternness, Michael and Jane soon beg her to never leave, but she only promises to stay until the wind changes.
I was inspired by the movie Saving Mr. Banks to pick up the original 1934 novel of Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. FAR less touchy-feely than Disney’s movie, Mary Poppins in the novel is a surprisingly vain, acerbic, and mysterious woman who regularly snaps at Jane and Michael and gets offended easily, but also takes them on grand magical adventures and wins their devotion.
Mary Poppins is episodic in style: each chapter is a different, stand-alone adventure. Some of their adventures will be familiar if you know the movie, but most were brand-new to me. Bert the Match-Man shows up in Chapter 2, when he and Mary (without the children) jump into one of his chalk sidewalk drawings, but never appears again. Nor are there any penguins, animated or otherwise, or parents who need to reconnect with their family. Mr. and Mrs. Banks appear to be doing just fine, thank you, or if they’re not, no one in this book seems to care.
But there’s a touching chapter about Andrew the dog who, using Mary Poppins as his translator with his owner, insists that his owner Miss Lark accept his friendship with a common street mongrel and welcome him into their home … and, by the way, quit making Andrew go to the hairdresser’s and wear embarrassing overcoats. Another standout is a tender chapter about the 11-month-old twins, John and Barbara, who have a sweet conversation with Mary Poppins, the sunlight that streams into their room, and a visiting Starling. The twins are still young enough to understand and talk with the animals, the sun and the wind talking to them, but their first birthday is fast approaching. There’s a visit to the zoo on the night of the full moon and Mary Poppins' birthday, when the animals can talk and switch places with people, who are in their cages.
There’s also a curious chapter called “Bad Tuesday” in which Michael feels driven to be naughty all day long, but is nevertheless rewarded with a quick magical trip around the globe with Mary Poppins and Jane, visiting with a polar bear, macaw, panda and dolphins at each of the four corners of the world. It’s worth noting that Travers rewrote this chapter after receiving many complaints, replacing the highly stereotypical “Red Indians,” a Chinese Mandarin, Eskimos, and black Africans with non-controversial animals. The original text and some illustrations can be viewed in this online article.
After the premiere of the film version of Mary Poppins, according to Richard Sherman, Travers tracked down Walt Disney at the after-party. A New Yorker article reported their brief exchange:
“Well,” she said loudly. “The first thing that has to go is the animation sequence.” Disney looked at her coolly. “Pamela,” he replied, “the ship has sailed.” And then he strode past her, toward a throng of well-wishers, and left her alone, an aging woman in a satin gown and evening gloves, who had travelled more than five thousand miles to attend a party where she wasn’t wanted.Whether Disney improved on Travers’ original story is a matter of personal taste; what is certain is that she herself never forgave his adaptation of her beloved book.
Mary Poppins, which has seven sequels written by Travers, is dated in its social viewpoints, though that’s understandable for a 1934 novel, and you have to squint to see the plot, but there are many charming and memorable moments.
April 28, 2021
Did you know mark poppins was a book before walt disney made his movie. Ok yah everyone knew that. But did you know it's a series with six books and short stories. All are available free on audible plus! Not much like the movie. Mary poppins is more Emily Blount rather than Julie Andrews. Vain, Stern, and a proper 1930s english nanny. I did not like her as much as I thought I would. It's a childrens book so I won't harp it on to much. Mary Poppins is a fun magical children's book I would recommend to parents for their kids. I get to scratch off another book on my Top 100 reads poster!
February 11, 2017
perfect book to make you sleep
August 22, 2017
This book is 1000% my aesthetic, and I love it to the moon and back.
I can't believe it's been fifteen years since I last read it. FIFTEEN YEARS, PEOPLE. That's a heck of a long time--but as soon as I started reading, I remembered everything. All the sights and sounds and colors, and even specific words and phrases on specific pages; it all came rushing back.
Raspberry jam cakes and gilt gingerbread and strawberry ice and smooth green lawns; peeling paint and golden snakeskin and soft yellow dandelions and furry winter gloves. Carpet bags and flannel nightgowns and starchy aprons smelling of buttered toast. And to top it all off, a little girl who wears a piece of blue sky for a dress (I LOVE HER OKAY). Mary Poppins is my happy place, and I wouldn't mind having her for my nanny--no, I wouldn't mind at all.
"Don't you know," she said pityingly, "that everybody's got a Fairyland of their own?"
Why, yes, Mary, I did know . . . because you were my Fairyland. And for that, I thank you.
I can't believe it's been fifteen years since I last read it. FIFTEEN YEARS, PEOPLE. That's a heck of a long time--but as soon as I started reading, I remembered everything. All the sights and sounds and colors, and even specific words and phrases on specific pages; it all came rushing back.
Raspberry jam cakes and gilt gingerbread and strawberry ice and smooth green lawns; peeling paint and golden snakeskin and soft yellow dandelions and furry winter gloves. Carpet bags and flannel nightgowns and starchy aprons smelling of buttered toast. And to top it all off, a little girl who wears a piece of blue sky for a dress (I LOVE HER OKAY). Mary Poppins is my happy place, and I wouldn't mind having her for my nanny--no, I wouldn't mind at all.
"Don't you know," she said pityingly, "that everybody's got a Fairyland of their own?"
Why, yes, Mary, I did know . . . because you were my Fairyland. And for that, I thank you.
September 11, 2019
Thank goodness. A classic children's tale that doesn't suck. :)
Please, please be cross!
Well, in with the wind and out with the change, I say, and there's nothing more delightful than a rather hard-hitting charm-blaster like this. Mary herself is such an insufferable vanity, but she has such heart, and kids will always know the good ones from the bad. They always do. And it has NOTHING at all to do with a spoonful of sugar.
Stuff and nonsense. That stuff is all for the birds.
The best part is... my girl loved it. :)
Please, please be cross!
Well, in with the wind and out with the change, I say, and there's nothing more delightful than a rather hard-hitting charm-blaster like this. Mary herself is such an insufferable vanity, but she has such heart, and kids will always know the good ones from the bad. They always do. And it has NOTHING at all to do with a spoonful of sugar.
Stuff and nonsense. That stuff is all for the birds.
The best part is... my girl loved it. :)
January 27, 2016
This review contains spoilers for the end of the book!
Characters: ★
The characters in this book are so weird. Sure, the kids would have been relatable at the time this was written but Mary Poppins was an extremely unlikeable character who just awful and bizarre, and not in the good way either. None of the characters stood out to me and they all felt really flat.
Plot: ★
The plot was just awful. Nothing happened. Mary Poppins came and was horrible to the children; they went on a couple of weird adventures that had no backstory or plot to them, and then she left. The end.
Writing: ★★
I suppose the writing was alright, but it definitely wasn’t what I expected.
Romance/Feels: ★
None whatsoever.
Ending: ★
The ending is what confuses me the most. Mary Poppins decides to leave the children and then the children all of a sudden decide that they don’t want Mary Poppins to leave even though she’s been nothing but HORRIBLE to them. What????
Overall Enjoyment: ★
I unfortunately did not enjoy this book at all. ☹ Definitely one of my least favourite books I’ve ever read.
Rereadability: I got rid of the book after I read it so I won’t be rereading it.
Final Rating: 1.67 stars to be exact!
Characters: ★
The characters in this book are so weird. Sure, the kids would have been relatable at the time this was written but Mary Poppins was an extremely unlikeable character who just awful and bizarre, and not in the good way either. None of the characters stood out to me and they all felt really flat.
Plot: ★
The plot was just awful. Nothing happened. Mary Poppins came and was horrible to the children; they went on a couple of weird adventures that had no backstory or plot to them, and then she left. The end.
Writing: ★★
I suppose the writing was alright, but it definitely wasn’t what I expected.
Romance/Feels: ★
None whatsoever.
Ending: ★
The ending is what confuses me the most. Mary Poppins decides to leave the children and then the children all of a sudden decide that they don’t want Mary Poppins to leave even though she’s been nothing but HORRIBLE to them. What????
Overall Enjoyment: ★
I unfortunately did not enjoy this book at all. ☹ Definitely one of my least favourite books I’ve ever read.
Rereadability: I got rid of the book after I read it so I won’t be rereading it.
Final Rating: 1.67 stars to be exact!
October 21, 2020
A one of a kind children's classic. You can watch my full review here - http://youtu.be/MsQ-7Xbf7PM
November 3, 2021
As soon as I saw this book I knew it was time to revisit this magical classic. The illustrations were likegetting extra sprinkles. The Banks family will never be the same once Mary Poppins has come to stay.
December 31, 2013
I've wanted to read "Mary Poppins" for years now. My mom read me many classic children's novels when I was a kid, and then I discovered some on my own in later years, but this is one that somehow slipped through the cracks. Not that Mary Poppins hasn't been an important figure in my life, thanks to the magic of the movie. I just always pictured her as a smiling, rosy-cheeked, singing, magical lady who looks like Julie Andrews! I was somewhat prepared for the differences between the book and movie given some reviews I've come across (including some that really shocked me, such as those claiming Mary Poppins is a Satanist!) so I braced myself. What I found in the book was a different sort of charm from the film--a different sort of Mary Poppins who was more severe, sarcastic and egotistical, who doesn't sing and who never says "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"--yet was still very well-loved by the children she nannies, and still managed to help them see the magic in life. Read on if you want my thoughts on specific chapters and more detailed comparisons between the book and the movie but it will contain SPOILERS...
Only a few chapters in the book match scenes in the film and I must say I think Disney and the script writers were wise to choose what they did.
"The Day Out" The idea of going into a chalk picture is so charming and exciting and lovely--and it is so beautifully realized in the film (though I never was a fan of the fox hunt!) I think it was really too bad that this is the one adventure in the book Jane and Michael DON'T get to go on. It was absolutely a "date" between Mary Poppins and Bert. But, woe is me, this was the ONLY chapter in the book to feature Bert. And, gosh, I had a HUGE crush on Bert in the movie when I was little--he was SO nice and funny and creative and nice to the kids. The Bert in the novel sells matches and doesn't dance around on chimneys or play a one-man-band. And he's only in that one chapter. Sad!!! (Though perhaps a TAD more realistic as I don't think nannies had more than half an afternoon a week "off" and it really was quite a coincidence that Bert got to go along with them so often in the film.)
"Laughing Gas" This is the one where Mary visits her uncle and he is laughing so hard he floats into the air and they have a tea party in the air. This is another chapter that just so appeals to the child's imagination and I thought it was well represented in the film.
"Miss Lark's Andrew"--the little dog--also makes an appearance in the movie. I thought the chapter in the novel is quite the "message/moral" chapter but it's a good one; I love how pure-bred Andrew sticks up for his mutt friend against the protestations of his snobby owner and helps the mutt find a good home :-)
"The Bird Woman"--I must say this is one part of the film that always bummed me out as a kid. The bird woman, no matter how happy she seemed feeding the birds, was so dirty and ragged looking, it just made me sad that all she did all day was sit and feed birds. And the song is sooo melancholy, IMO, even if it's lovely and a lullaby. So, I rather prefered the chapter in the book.
That's where the book and movie similarities end, by and large. (Unless the film incorporates aspects from the sequel books.)
Regarding the chapters in the book NOT featured in the film, I thought some were more successful than others.
"The Dancing Cow" -- a bit boring for me
"Mrs Corry" -- despite the charming ending with hanging the stars in the sky, was really rather creepy and weird, with the witchy lady living in a gingerbread house and having fat children (I couldn't help think of HANSEL AND GRETEL)
"Christmas Shopping" -- lovely with the stars and Mary Poppins' generosity.
"John and Barbara's Story" -- achingly sad but so lovely and wise
"Bad Tuesday" -- so well-realized in terms of how one can just feel like an awful, angry grump all day from getting up on the wrong side of the bed; and I would have loved the visiting-animals-around-the-world bit as a kid
"Full Moon" -- I think this is where the "Mary Poppins is a Satanist" comes from, haha! And, I admit, it was a very, very odd chapter. I was not really a fan and yet, I could appreciate elements and might have liked it as a kid. It's very cool how the animals through a birthday party for Mary. The part with the people in the zoo was very weird and creepy, to me--then again, I think maybe Travers was trying to say how it's not so nice to keep animals in cages, either and I totally dig that message. I wonder if that is why she used snakes as the party-leaders, too--because they ARE so badly viewed by most people and she wanted them to be seen as nice and interesting creatures who love Mary Poppins and whom she loves in return? In any case, it was a very bizarre chapter but I certainly don't think Mary Poppins is a Satanist!!!
I think the movie was more magical than the book in a lot of ways--I LOVED the scene where the children snap their fingers to make the room tidy, for example! And I like the family element that the movie highlights--a workaholic dad and his kids who long to spend time with him, realizing what is so important in life and going off to fly a kite together--even if it's a little cheezy, I love it! And Mary Poppins, despite her "spit-spot" stern turns and obvious self-satisfaction (the part where she sings to herself in the mirror--"Cheeky!"--haha!) seems genuinely warm and caring and fun. I'm not sure the Mary Poppins in the book is ever overtly warm or fun, but she is certainly caring in her way and she IS magical in a deliciously mysterious sort of way and I found her endearing. It's so funny how she loves to go shopping because she wants to look at herself in the window reflections--and she is so pleased with her appearance, yet she gives away her favorite gloves to someone more needy. And how she leaves the presents for the children when she goes away. She really does love them and understand them even if she is strict and often condescending and sarcastic. I think the reason she is tolerable in those moods is that the children can see right through her--they are never really afraid of her or embarrassed by her--they know the good in her and nothing else bothers them.
read with the Children's Book Group October read -- "classic novels"l
Only a few chapters in the book match scenes in the film and I must say I think Disney and the script writers were wise to choose what they did.
"The Day Out" The idea of going into a chalk picture is so charming and exciting and lovely--and it is so beautifully realized in the film (though I never was a fan of the fox hunt!) I think it was really too bad that this is the one adventure in the book Jane and Michael DON'T get to go on. It was absolutely a "date" between Mary Poppins and Bert. But, woe is me, this was the ONLY chapter in the book to feature Bert. And, gosh, I had a HUGE crush on Bert in the movie when I was little--he was SO nice and funny and creative and nice to the kids. The Bert in the novel sells matches and doesn't dance around on chimneys or play a one-man-band. And he's only in that one chapter. Sad!!! (Though perhaps a TAD more realistic as I don't think nannies had more than half an afternoon a week "off" and it really was quite a coincidence that Bert got to go along with them so often in the film.)
"Laughing Gas" This is the one where Mary visits her uncle and he is laughing so hard he floats into the air and they have a tea party in the air. This is another chapter that just so appeals to the child's imagination and I thought it was well represented in the film.
"Miss Lark's Andrew"--the little dog--also makes an appearance in the movie. I thought the chapter in the novel is quite the "message/moral" chapter but it's a good one; I love how pure-bred Andrew sticks up for his mutt friend against the protestations of his snobby owner and helps the mutt find a good home :-)
"The Bird Woman"--I must say this is one part of the film that always bummed me out as a kid. The bird woman, no matter how happy she seemed feeding the birds, was so dirty and ragged looking, it just made me sad that all she did all day was sit and feed birds. And the song is sooo melancholy, IMO, even if it's lovely and a lullaby. So, I rather prefered the chapter in the book.
That's where the book and movie similarities end, by and large. (Unless the film incorporates aspects from the sequel books.)
Regarding the chapters in the book NOT featured in the film, I thought some were more successful than others.
"The Dancing Cow" -- a bit boring for me
"Mrs Corry" -- despite the charming ending with hanging the stars in the sky, was really rather creepy and weird, with the witchy lady living in a gingerbread house and having fat children (I couldn't help think of HANSEL AND GRETEL)
"Christmas Shopping" -- lovely with the stars and Mary Poppins' generosity.
"John and Barbara's Story" -- achingly sad but so lovely and wise
"Bad Tuesday" -- so well-realized in terms of how one can just feel like an awful, angry grump all day from getting up on the wrong side of the bed; and I would have loved the visiting-animals-around-the-world bit as a kid
"Full Moon" -- I think this is where the "Mary Poppins is a Satanist" comes from, haha! And, I admit, it was a very, very odd chapter. I was not really a fan and yet, I could appreciate elements and might have liked it as a kid. It's very cool how the animals through a birthday party for Mary. The part with the people in the zoo was very weird and creepy, to me--then again, I think maybe Travers was trying to say how it's not so nice to keep animals in cages, either and I totally dig that message. I wonder if that is why she used snakes as the party-leaders, too--because they ARE so badly viewed by most people and she wanted them to be seen as nice and interesting creatures who love Mary Poppins and whom she loves in return? In any case, it was a very bizarre chapter but I certainly don't think Mary Poppins is a Satanist!!!
I think the movie was more magical than the book in a lot of ways--I LOVED the scene where the children snap their fingers to make the room tidy, for example! And I like the family element that the movie highlights--a workaholic dad and his kids who long to spend time with him, realizing what is so important in life and going off to fly a kite together--even if it's a little cheezy, I love it! And Mary Poppins, despite her "spit-spot" stern turns and obvious self-satisfaction (the part where she sings to herself in the mirror--"Cheeky!"--haha!) seems genuinely warm and caring and fun. I'm not sure the Mary Poppins in the book is ever overtly warm or fun, but she is certainly caring in her way and she IS magical in a deliciously mysterious sort of way and I found her endearing. It's so funny how she loves to go shopping because she wants to look at herself in the window reflections--and she is so pleased with her appearance, yet she gives away her favorite gloves to someone more needy. And how she leaves the presents for the children when she goes away. She really does love them and understand them even if she is strict and often condescending and sarcastic. I think the reason she is tolerable in those moods is that the children can see right through her--they are never really afraid of her or embarrassed by her--they know the good in her and nothing else bothers them.
read with the Children's Book Group October read -- "classic novels"l
November 30, 2021
“When their new nanny, Mary Poppins, arrives on a gust of the East Wind, greets their mother, and slides up the banister, Jane and Michael’s lives are turned magically upside down.”
Mary Poppins was every child’s favourite dream nanny back in the day. Created by the Australian author P.L. Travers, she seemed to epitomise a kind of Edwardian English gentility. Mary Poppins arrived with a carpet-bag full of magic, blowing over the roof-tops and through the door of the Banks family house, to change their lives forever. First enchanting children as far back as 1934, this nanny appealed to many British children in the 1950s and early 60s, before we ever dreamed that Walt Disney was about to put his own spin on her.
Like countless others, I used to really enjoy reading the Mary Poppins series of books, when I was a child. Each would contain about a dozen linked stories, so they could be read as chapters in a novel, or as separate short stories. And the best thing of all was that they could be read in any order. For many of us, whose copious and enthusiastic reading outstripped the family budget for buying books, libraries were an absolute necessity. Most books for me were presents for birthdays or Christmas. But in a library then, you borrowed what happened to be on the shelves. It would be a rare event indeed, to read a series of books in order, although this seems inexplicable to some nowadays, in a time of cheap and easily obtainable paperbacks.
The Mary Poppins books were easy to identify, with their vertical candy-striped covers, in shades of pale pink, blue, green and orange and white. Superimposed on this would be a picture of the magical nanny herself. The line illustrations by Mary Shepard were a treat, enhancing the books with their lively humour.
I hadn’t thought of these books for years, but after watching the excellent film “Saving Mr Banks”, I thought I would read one again, to see whether it held up. Certainly they were different from the film by Walt Disney, and I had not been surprised to learn (assuming the film was based on fact) that P.L. Travers resisted his adaptation of her work for a long time. I have to say that the film is excellent in its own way, but staying true to a book never seemed particularly important to Walt Disney. He always sweetened things up with a spoonful of sugar, (or at his worst, doused the whole in treacle).
The original Mary Poppins stories were darker, and amusing, but often decidedly odd. All explained by magic, we assumed. Mary Poppins was a unique, inexplicable character.
I was delighted to see that Harper Collins had reissued the books in 2013 - the same year as “Saving Mr Banks” was released - with the original illustrations by Mary Shepard, and what looked like the original covers too! Perhaps this was a marketing strategy, cashing in on the nostalgia factor produced by the film? Whatever it was, I ordered my copy and waited in anticipation.
Well, what a letdown it was. The book arrived; quite a nice little book, with smooth matte covers, and a raised shiny design of Mary Poppins flying amongst the clouds and birds with her umbrella held aloft. It looked an authentic picture, and the candy stripes were there in the background too. But “little” is the operative word. It is smaller than those from the 1960s.
Opening the book, it was clear that the size of font used is smaller too, and the paper was not of the best quality. But the worst thing of all was the reduced size of those wonderful, quirky illustrations. From taking up a whole page, or most of a page, they had now been relegated to mere decorations at the beginning of the chapters - almost like motifs.
When I purchased this book in 2013, the cover price was £12.99, which is not inconsiderable. Admittedly I buy very few new books, but this one is certainly not a “cheap” book.
Sadly it’s not for me. Despite preferring to hold a solid book in my hand, the print size means that I shall have to refresh my memories by reading this great children’s book on kindle, after all.
Mary Poppins was every child’s favourite dream nanny back in the day. Created by the Australian author P.L. Travers, she seemed to epitomise a kind of Edwardian English gentility. Mary Poppins arrived with a carpet-bag full of magic, blowing over the roof-tops and through the door of the Banks family house, to change their lives forever. First enchanting children as far back as 1934, this nanny appealed to many British children in the 1950s and early 60s, before we ever dreamed that Walt Disney was about to put his own spin on her.
Like countless others, I used to really enjoy reading the Mary Poppins series of books, when I was a child. Each would contain about a dozen linked stories, so they could be read as chapters in a novel, or as separate short stories. And the best thing of all was that they could be read in any order. For many of us, whose copious and enthusiastic reading outstripped the family budget for buying books, libraries were an absolute necessity. Most books for me were presents for birthdays or Christmas. But in a library then, you borrowed what happened to be on the shelves. It would be a rare event indeed, to read a series of books in order, although this seems inexplicable to some nowadays, in a time of cheap and easily obtainable paperbacks.
The Mary Poppins books were easy to identify, with their vertical candy-striped covers, in shades of pale pink, blue, green and orange and white. Superimposed on this would be a picture of the magical nanny herself. The line illustrations by Mary Shepard were a treat, enhancing the books with their lively humour.
I hadn’t thought of these books for years, but after watching the excellent film “Saving Mr Banks”, I thought I would read one again, to see whether it held up. Certainly they were different from the film by Walt Disney, and I had not been surprised to learn (assuming the film was based on fact) that P.L. Travers resisted his adaptation of her work for a long time. I have to say that the film is excellent in its own way, but staying true to a book never seemed particularly important to Walt Disney. He always sweetened things up with a spoonful of sugar, (or at his worst, doused the whole in treacle).
The original Mary Poppins stories were darker, and amusing, but often decidedly odd. All explained by magic, we assumed. Mary Poppins was a unique, inexplicable character.
I was delighted to see that Harper Collins had reissued the books in 2013 - the same year as “Saving Mr Banks” was released - with the original illustrations by Mary Shepard, and what looked like the original covers too! Perhaps this was a marketing strategy, cashing in on the nostalgia factor produced by the film? Whatever it was, I ordered my copy and waited in anticipation.
Well, what a letdown it was. The book arrived; quite a nice little book, with smooth matte covers, and a raised shiny design of Mary Poppins flying amongst the clouds and birds with her umbrella held aloft. It looked an authentic picture, and the candy stripes were there in the background too. But “little” is the operative word. It is smaller than those from the 1960s.
Opening the book, it was clear that the size of font used is smaller too, and the paper was not of the best quality. But the worst thing of all was the reduced size of those wonderful, quirky illustrations. From taking up a whole page, or most of a page, they had now been relegated to mere decorations at the beginning of the chapters - almost like motifs.
When I purchased this book in 2013, the cover price was £12.99, which is not inconsiderable. Admittedly I buy very few new books, but this one is certainly not a “cheap” book.
Sadly it’s not for me. Despite preferring to hold a solid book in my hand, the print size means that I shall have to refresh my memories by reading this great children’s book on kindle, after all.
November 18, 2019
I was totally mesmerized by the Mary Poppins books as a child and I remember sitting in the library (it was a kind of nursery for me with my mum being the librarian :) reading and re-reading them any time I could get my hands on them (they were popular and in demand - not easy to get).
And while it is a far from perfect book, I still felt the allure while reading it as an adult: a nice, cosy walk down Memory lane.
And while it is a far from perfect book, I still felt the allure while reading it as an adult: a nice, cosy walk down Memory lane.
Shelved as 'reviews-of-books-i-didnt-read'
February 27, 2023Winnie the Pooh is wandering around outside the beautiful church of St Martin-in-the-Fields disconsolately. He appears slightly lost. Just a few yards away, perched on the low wall which surrounds Trafalgar Square, a smartly dressed woman is singing sweetly :
Feed the bear, tuppence a bag
Tuppence... tuppence... tuppence a bag
Two small children wander up to her.
"Please Miss, we want to feed the bear"
She smiles at the little girl. "Very well, she says. She takes their tuppence and gives them a small brown bag. They scamper over to Winnie who looks up expectantly. The little girl opens the bag and offers some of the contents to the small bear. "Why, what have we here?" he says, and joy begins to suffuse his whole face. "Honey cakes!" He scoffs them up, making slurping and mmm-mmm noises. The children empty the bag at his feet. "Oh, see how he likes the honey cakes!" says the girl. But then the bear suddenly slumps onto one knee, clutching at his gut. "Oh my", he says, "I do believe I am beginning to feel a little.... queer." Within thirty seconds he's convulsing silently on the cold pavement, lips writhing, already beyond the power of speech. The children know nothing about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Their faces crumpling in dismay and horror and beginning to cry, they take to their heels. By the time their footsteps have died away the bear has stopped moving, his blackening tongue protruding, his features twisted into a grimace, black frosted bile matting his neck fur.
Mary steps across Trafalgar Square to peer at the dead bear. "Now, I don't know about you, but I would say that the medicine has gone down. Indubitably." She winks at a pigeon, adjusts her hat, checks her watch and marches away.
**
Note to all relevant parties : This book made me laugh and cry. I absolutely fell in love with the characters!
Feed the bear, tuppence a bag
Tuppence... tuppence... tuppence a bag
Two small children wander up to her.
"Please Miss, we want to feed the bear"
She smiles at the little girl. "Very well, she says. She takes their tuppence and gives them a small brown bag. They scamper over to Winnie who looks up expectantly. The little girl opens the bag and offers some of the contents to the small bear. "Why, what have we here?" he says, and joy begins to suffuse his whole face. "Honey cakes!" He scoffs them up, making slurping and mmm-mmm noises. The children empty the bag at his feet. "Oh, see how he likes the honey cakes!" says the girl. But then the bear suddenly slumps onto one knee, clutching at his gut. "Oh my", he says, "I do believe I am beginning to feel a little.... queer." Within thirty seconds he's convulsing silently on the cold pavement, lips writhing, already beyond the power of speech. The children know nothing about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Their faces crumpling in dismay and horror and beginning to cry, they take to their heels. By the time their footsteps have died away the bear has stopped moving, his blackening tongue protruding, his features twisted into a grimace, black frosted bile matting his neck fur.
Mary steps across Trafalgar Square to peer at the dead bear. "Now, I don't know about you, but I would say that the medicine has gone down. Indubitably." She winks at a pigeon, adjusts her hat, checks her watch and marches away.
**
Note to all relevant parties : This book made me laugh and cry. I absolutely fell in love with the characters!
August 4, 2007
OK, I know it's not unusual for Disney to eviscerate classics, but I was really surprised when I finally read this book to my children how little it resembled the Disney movie (which I liked!).
I adore this book. Mary is vain and crabby and a bit of a mystic, and bizarre things happen when she is around. But it's really about the ephemeral magic of childhood. I laughed out loud and wept openly when I read this to my kids. It is a wonderful book. I wish I'd read it earlier.
I adore this book. Mary is vain and crabby and a bit of a mystic, and bizarre things happen when she is around. But it's really about the ephemeral magic of childhood. I laughed out loud and wept openly when I read this to my kids. It is a wonderful book. I wish I'd read it earlier.
June 16, 2016
There is a dark undercurrent in this novel and in this character that I found disturbing. And a few of the other characters that you encounter I would describe as bizarre, like the old gingerbread lady, and the King Cobra at the zoo who likes to kiss your cheeks (no thank you). The movie, I understand, is different (I haven't seen it). As classic children novels go this one, for me, was not very likable, so three stars is the best I can do.
December 25, 2017
Quick review of the audio! This seemed a little different than what I remember of my book and record set I wore out from overuse back in the 80s (my poor parents! It was Mary Poppins all day, every day!)! I think my copy was the Walt Disney version and based on the movie with Julie Andrews, which made Mary Poppins not quite so temperamental! It was still fun and enjoyable, and I hope to listen to more in the series.
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