Based on the original 1934 novel by P. L. Travers with beautiful illustrations by Genevieve Godbout, this collectable picture book is sure to become a favorite of Mary Poppins fans old and new.

When the East Wind blows Mary Poppins over Cherry Tree Lane and into the lives of the Banks children, nothing is ever the same! This picture book adaptation of the original novel is full of Mary’s unique brand of whimsical adventure: There’s a tea party on the ceiling, a visit to the night zoo, and a trip to a mysterious shop that sells stars. Told in a lyrical text with fresh yet timeless art by Genevieve Godbout, this version of Mary Poppins is perfect for reading aloud. Young and old, longtime friends of Mary, and those meeting her for the first time, will revel in this colorfully illustrated version of the story that inspired the image of the beloved nanny of page, stage, and screen.

Out October 2018

32 pages approx.

The Author:

Pamela Lyndon Travers was an Australian novelist, actress and journalist, popularly remembered for her series of children’s novels about mystical nanny Mary Poppins. She was born to bank manager Travers Robert Goff and Margaret Agnes. Her father died when she was seven, and although “epileptic seizure delirium” was given as the cause of death, Travers herself “always believed the underlying cause was sustained, heavy drinking”. Travers began to publish her poems while still a teenager and wrote for The Bulletin and Triad while also gaining a reputation as an actress. She toured Australia and New Zealand with a Shakespearean touring company before leaving for England in 1924. There she dedicated herself to writing under the pen name P. L. Travers. In 1925 while in Ireland, Travers met the poet George William Russell who, as editor of The Irish Statesman, accepted some of her poems for publication. Through Russell, Travers met William Butler Yeats and other Irish poets who fostered her interest in and knowledge of world mythology. Later, the mystic Gurdjieff would have a great effect on her, as would also have on several other literary figures.

 
The 1934 publication of Mary Poppins was Travers’ first literary success. Five sequels followed, as well as a collection of other novels, poetry collections and works of non-fiction. The Disney musical adaptation was released in 1964. Primarily based on the first novel in what was then a sequence of four books, it also lifted elements from the sequel Mary Poppins Comes Back. Although Travers was an adviser to the production she disapproved of the dilution of the harsher aspects of Mary Poppins’s character, felt ambivalent about the music and disliked the use of animation to such an extent that she ruled out any further adaptations of the later Mary Poppins novels. At the film’s star-studded premiere, she reportedly approached Disney and told him that the animated sequence had to go. Disney responded by saying “Pamela, the ship has sailed” and walked away. Travers would never again agree to another Poppins/Disney adaptation, though Disney made several attempts to persuade her to change her mind. So fervent was Travers’ dislike of the Walt Disney adaptation and the way she felt she had been treated during the production, that well into her 90s, when she was approached by producer Cameron Mackintosh to do the stage musical, she only acquiesced upon the condition that only English born writers (and specifically no Americans) and no one from the film production were to be directly involved with the creative process of the stage musical. This specifically excluded the Sherman Brothers from writing additional songs for the production even though they were still very prolific. Original songs and other aspects from the 1964 film were allowed to be incorporated into the production however. These points were stipulated in her last will and testament.

 
Travers was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1977. She died in London in 1996. Although Travers never married, she adopted a boy when she was in her late 30s.

MY THOUGHTS:

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Awww… how do you take a novel and condense it down to a picture book, of all things, while trying to stay true to the original writing. Therein lies the problem.

The artwork, oh it’s so beautiful and I love the style, and you can never, ever go wrong with Genevieve Godbout’s illustrations. Knowing that this story was originally a novel size reading, I expected there to be many things left out.  After all, how can one take thousands of words and reduce it down to a fraction of that.

There were a few scenes that would have made the book better, but once you’ve introduced the chalk painting scene, for example, you’d have to elaborate on what happened once in the painting and that would require more words and more pages.

I suppose it’s best to stick to the ‘key’ elements that make Mary Poppins, well… her. By doing this, the youngest of readers can be introduced to the character in a fun and enticing way that may lead to further exploration once older. This book makes for a great introduction and should be expected to be just that.

Growing up, I loved reading about Mary Poppins and her magical world.  The movie adaptation that P.L. Travers hated was incredible and so enjoyable.  Julie Andrews as Mary was unforgettable. I hear, since I have yet to see it, that the latest Mary Poppins was also well-done.

This book is an excellent idea for very young children, illustrated perfectly as only Genevieve Godbout can, and worth picking up.

I gave it: