“Mary Poppins” - P. L. Travers

(Mary Poppins book 1)

☂️ Although he claimed to dislike it, and only grudgingly accepted this choice to read together, Ashwin listened attentively and would even ask to be filled in if he ever missed a part.

☂️ The Julie Andrews film version of Mary Poppins is as prim and priggish even, but not as snappy, vain, and ill-tempered as the original Mary in the novel.

☂️ The novel is full of entertaining side adventures far beyond the floating tea party with Mr. Wigg and Bert and Mary’s magical trip into the sidewalk chalk drawing. The novel includes a meeting with the Pleiades cluster of stars while holiday shopping and a fully occult birthday party. 

☂️ I am fully on board with the Potterverse musings that Mary is a witch with special Ministry of Magic dispensation to perform magic in the presence of muggle children.

☂️ One things was unclear: Travers does not play up the children’s naughtiness (beyond Michael waking up on the wrong side of the bed that one day). Mary Poppins’ departure isn’t as neat and tidy as in the film. She abruptly leaves when the wind changes, but Michael and Jane seem mostly unchanged (other than having loved Mary and being traumatized needlessly by her departure). There are several more books in the series, so I’ll reserve judgement on how Travers develops these characters further. My kids were unbothered by this quibble, and thoroughly relished the adventures.

☂️ NB: The “Bad Tuesday” chapter was fully revised in 1981 to depict the children meeting animals in different lands, rather than the original, heavily stereotyped ethnic groups in the original 1934 publication. I’d say this edition is mostly unobjectionable, but we did notice Mrs. Banks telling Michael not to act like a “Red Indian” when he was crying unconsolably at Mary’s departure.