Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Mary Poppins is not nice. Forget what you know of Julie Andrews's Mary Poppins from the Disney film. The original one, as P.L. Travers penned her, is unsmiling, unyielding and prone to sniffing when she disapproves of something. And she disapproves of quite a lot--her charges--the four Banks children--and also the various magical folk who people her world. I think that's what makes Mary Poppins so endearing. No one is spared her superior judgment, except, perhaps, herself. She is only human. Or is she?
What makes Mary Poppins a superior book to read aloud to your children?
1. It presents a magical world that intersects our own without wizards, wands or dark lords who must not be named. I love the Harry Potter series--we're also reading that out loud--but it's nice to have a kinder, gentler option for the younger and/or more sensitive reader. There are no villains and nothing really scary. Creepy, yes (how would you like to suck on the broken-off finger of an old woman, even if it does taste like a sweet?) but scary, no.
2. The book exalts and inspires the imagination. Jane and Michael Banks certainly wonder about the strange things that Mary Poppins does and the unusual people they meet through her, but--as children do--they accept the magic in the world quite readily.
3. The characters are well-drawn, which is to say they are flawed. Michael has a humdinger of a bad day. The parents are distant. Mary Poppins herself is exceedingly vain. Here's an example, from when she looks at her reflection in a shop window:
Mary Poppins sighed with pleasure, however, when she saw three of herself, each wearing a blue coat with silver buttons and a blue hat to match. She thought it was such a lovely sight that she wished there had been a dozen of her or even thirty. The more Mary Poppins the better.
4. The prose is direct, no-nonsense and precise, just like Mary Poppins herself.
P.L. Travers wrote several Mary Poppins books, so if you like the first one, there's plenty more to explore. The more Mary Poppins the better.