Book Review: Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers, illustrated by Mary Shephard

Title: Mary Poppins: Revised Edition
Author: P.L. Travers
Illustrator: Mary Shepard
Published: San Diego: Odyssey/Harcourt Brace Yong Classic, 1997 (1934)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 202
Total Page Count: 103,342
Text Number: 297
Read Because: mentioned by cupcake_goth, borrowed from the Corvallis public library
Review: When their nanny leaves without warning, Mary Poppins blows in on the East Wind to care for the four Banks children. Strange, contrary, and undoubtedly magical, Poppins brings adventure and changes their lives for the better. I have a fair bit of love for episodic storytelling, but in novels I still need the episodes to be tied together by an overarching plot; with only the most generous exceptions, Mary Poppins is not, and this is only my real complaint with the book. Each chapter is effectively a short story detailing one of Poppins's magical adventures, and while there is a sense of cumulative progress as successive episodes reveal more about Poppins, and despite the fact that the book doesn't feel disjointed even if some chapters could be shuffled to no detriment, something's still lacking. Poppins is the book's point and purpose: she's chaotic, whimsical, unlikable, and truly fantastic; her effect on the world around her is captivating, and the reader—like the children—comes fear and love her in equal measure. But there's no more point—or overarching plot—than that. Discovering Poppins is enough to sustain this book, and each chapter makes for an enjoyable short story, but I wouldn't want any more without a more substantial plot and I don't think this volume would stand up to rereads.

It is a fun little read, though. This Poppins is much more rewarding than her sugar-coated film version: rather than tainting her magic, her chaos and casual cruelty serves to make it more vivid and vast; she's also tempered by just enough humanity (and human faults) to feel real, and as well as wanting another peek at her magic, one begins to want a little peek into her mind. Travers's prose is a somewhat toned down from the twee, wry, humorous voice of this era of children's literature, but that works out fine: it retains character but ages well, and is easily readable today. And no matter the issue I take with such episodic storytelling, the enchanting short stories which fill this book are swift and compelling reads. Mary Poppins didn't quite sweep me off my feet, but it intrigued and delighted me, and it certainly made for a few hours of fun. I recommend it.

Review posted here on Amazon.com.

Kuzco has been popcorning, lately.

Kuzco has been doing little, grown-up-pig popcorns, lately. I have a lot of thoughts about this, but they're as much about the guilt I have about how distant I'd been from him back at the other house as they are about the experience of having him here, and this post isn't about that. It's about a spoiled, loved guinea pig who makes little twitches of happiness. It's a happy post. I'm so glad to have him here.