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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I read this aloud to my seven year old daughter. We both agreed Mary Poppins is a meany; the book also differs quite a bit from the movie.
But if you can get past that it's a fun read. It may be necessary to point out to young kids that her behavior is inappropriate. The children in the story are charming, and most chapters can be read in less than a half hour. I think it's definitely worth reading!
But if you can get past that it's a fun read. It may be necessary to point out to young kids that her behavior is inappropriate. The children in the story are charming, and most chapters can be read in less than a half hour. I think it's definitely worth reading!
Delightful. Magical. A great read-a-loud! Each chapter is a different small story.
Mary Poppins has become a household name. She's known as the odd and magical nanny of the Banks children, a woman who blows in on the wind to care for them only to be whisked away again. And while the story of her is so enchanting and wonderful, it is hard to read if you've seen the movie first. In order to enjoy it, you have to forget for a few hours (about two or three) that the movie doesn't exist.
First of all, let us examine the title character. She simply arrives on the wind and sets herself up as the nanny. There doesn't seem any special reason why she would choose these children, and of course she never explains herself. She's portrayed as conceited and never putting up with the children's nonsense, even as they engage in the magical world. She is always the authority figure and treats everything that happens in a very matter-of-fact way.
Every chapter almost seems like a short story, with its own plotline and conclusion. None of the various adventures were really tied together, at least as far as I could tell. I don't find anything wrong with all the small stories and actually found them incredibly enchanting and fantastic; it's simply a different way to tell the story.
I think one thing this book did really well is illustrate childhood and how much is lost as a person grows up. The mini-story involving the twins did a great job in that demonstration. Another was the mini-story of Christmas shopping, and how the children were picking out things they wanted and excusing them as presents for others that they would "borrow". That's exactly how kids think! That's pretty amazing. Yet there is an obvious divide between them and adults. They barely interact with their parents at all, and even though Mary Poppins always accompanies them on their enchanted adventures, she often pretends it never happened. That seems pretty typical of adults, too.
The book never talks down to its readers. It presents its story and simply expects you to accept all the strange and magical things that occur around Mary Poppins.
First of all, let us examine the title character. She simply arrives on the wind and sets herself up as the nanny. There doesn't seem any special reason why she would choose these children, and of course she never explains herself. She's portrayed as conceited and never putting up with the children's nonsense, even as they engage in the magical world. She is always the authority figure and treats everything that happens in a very matter-of-fact way.
Every chapter almost seems like a short story, with its own plotline and conclusion. None of the various adventures were really tied together, at least as far as I could tell. I don't find anything wrong with all the small stories and actually found them incredibly enchanting and fantastic; it's simply a different way to tell the story.
I think one thing this book did really well is illustrate childhood and how much is lost as a person grows up. The mini-story involving the twins did a great job in that demonstration. Another was the mini-story of Christmas shopping, and how the children were picking out things they wanted and excusing them as presents for others that they would "borrow". That's exactly how kids think! That's pretty amazing. Yet there is an obvious divide between them and adults. They barely interact with their parents at all, and even though Mary Poppins always accompanies them on their enchanted adventures, she often pretends it never happened. That seems pretty typical of adults, too.
The book never talks down to its readers. It presents its story and simply expects you to accept all the strange and magical things that occur around Mary Poppins.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Mary Poppins was kinda mean. She said no a lot and ignored the children. She was self absorbed and vain.
I think this is one instance where the movie was significantly better.
Each chapter was a short story adventure. Jumping into chalk pictures. Talking animals going to a human zoo. It was weird and quirky.
Overall: 3.5/5
I think this is one instance where the movie was significantly better.
Each chapter was a short story adventure. Jumping into chalk pictures. Talking animals going to a human zoo. It was weird and quirky.
Overall: 3.5/5
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
medium-paced
If you've never read Mary Poppins, you absolutely should. She is not the sing songy, happy go lightly that she is in the Disney adaptation, but the book is still a wonderful classic. I'd highly recommend reading it, then watching "Saving Mr. Banks" as you get a feel for what PL Travers really wanted Mary Poppins to be like.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I cried at the end!
This was written in such a magical way. Like a big comfort blanket! I keep coming back to children's classics as it's such a lovely feeling.
Told in a contemporary world, this one had the feeling of a fairy tale or collection of fairy tales about it. My mum's right, no logic. But where she complains, I see a tradition in that and I rather like it.
Mary can talk to babies, animals even the wind.
Less nice is how racist everything is. Even without seeing other ethnicities, the white characters still have time to use racial words to each other about other ethnicities.
I'd forgotten Mary, unlike Emily Blunt and Julie Andrews, is cockney! She calls them "sparrers"!
This was written in such a magical way. Like a big comfort blanket! I keep coming back to children's classics as it's such a lovely feeling.
Told in a contemporary world, this one had the feeling of a fairy tale or collection of fairy tales about it. My mum's right, no logic. But where she complains, I see a tradition in that and I rather like it.
Mary can talk to babies, animals even the wind.
Less nice is how racist everything is. Even without seeing other ethnicities, the white characters still have time to use racial words to each other about other ethnicities.
I'd forgotten Mary, unlike Emily Blunt and Julie Andrews, is cockney! She calls them "sparrers"!
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs, Classism