Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Wednesdays with David: Mary Poppins



Mary Poppins
By P.L. Travers
Illustrated by Mary Shepard
Harcourt 1997, first published in 1934
209 pages
From the library


Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins, #1)


The story: You think you know the story - Julie Andrews sings about a spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down and cleans up the nursery with the help of magic before jumping into sidewalk drawings and winning a horse race. While this book contains a few of the episodes you remember, Jane and Michael also travel around the world with a magic compass, visit a zoo where people are in the cages, and hear a story of a cow who can't stop dancing. 

Mama opines: This story is very different from the movie you remember. Mary Poppins has an edge - she is frequently short tempered and endlessly vain. Their adventures have more of a feeling of danger, although everyone always makes it home safe and sound. Mary Poppins feels more like a Roald Dahl book than a cheery Disney story, so settle in for some good dark and twisty story telling. 

Thoughts from David: Well, we know that Mary Poppins is magical! She tells them that she will stay until the wind changes. And as she flies into the clouds, well, it seems that Jane and Michael will miss Mary Poppins. And they sort of cry out into a wall of tears. When they find the letter and picture from Mary Poppins, it says she will come back.
Favorite part: When they help Maia go shopping for her family.


Happy Reading!

2 comments:

  1. This reminds me of Pinocchio. Not that it's a similar tale but that the Disney version was SO different from the original tale. I love David's thoughts, as always!

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    1. It's so interesting to read the classics and see how our perceptions of them have been shaped by time and other adaptations. I think David wants to get the Mary Poppins sequel, so we will see what happens in that one!

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