Mary Poppins

                                          


Mary Poppins.... Practically perfect in every way...

Sigh... It gets me right in the nostalgia.

Growing up my older brother and I were obsessed with the movie, Mary Poppins. It was the source of many of our childhood games.

Somehow, even as an avid reader in my youth (and to this day), I never read the series of books that inspired the movie. Now was my chance!

I must say, the differences between the book and movie are striking. I started to understand a bit more about how P.L. Travers was feeling during the making of the movie. If you haven't watched Saving Mr. Banks yet, I recommend you do so, it will give you a lot of insight. Suffice it to say, she hated the movie.

I am getting ahead of myself as usual. First, a summary, in case you have never heard of Mary Poppins (what are you doing with your life?).

The Banks family of number 17 Cherry Tree Lane find themselves in quick need of a nanny. The East wind blows in (quite literally) Mary Poppins to fill the position and events get more strange and unusual from there. Mary Poppins is a magical nanny who takes the children on many adventures all the while denying any of it actually happening. (Is she gaslighting these children? I am not sure how I feel about this.) She is also quite cross (not at all like Julie Andrews! The outrage!).
         

There is also the small matter that there are actually FOUR Banks children; Jane and Michael of course, but also infant twins John and Barbara!





I did, however, really enjoy the book. Keep in mind there are some very outdated ideas and language in this book that may be sensitive for the children in your classroom. I would very much like to see it revised to bring it up to the standards of the cultural norms. I would only recommend this book on a read-aloud basis so that you as the parent or teacher can filter out these ideas.
It really is a magical tale, just don't expect it to be exactly like the Disney movie (which actually was based on the first 4 books of the series). I think young children will still enjoy hearing about the many adventures Mary Poppins takes the children on.

I could really go either way on this one. The story itself is nostalgic for me, but the book just seems outdated in terms of what I would like to teach my students. It is one of those rare cases where the movie is better than the book in my humble opinion.