How many have seen the original Mary Poppins movie! (hands go up)

How many have read all the Mary Poppins books? (not so much)

I admit to being a Mary Poppins fan, enjoying both the movies, and the books. Starting in 1934, P. L. Travers wrote eight books with Mary Poppins as the centerpiece to the stories. I happily absorbed each one (I think I was in my early 20s when I read them), and found them completely magical.

I recently had a chance to reconnect with Mary Poppins when my friend Susan shared her beloved copy of Mary Poppins, the first book in the series. Some of the stories overlap with the original movie, including “Laughing Gas” (which brings to mind the song, “I love to laugh“) and Bird Woman (which brings to mind “Feed the birds“) And the book starts out with “East Wind” (how Mary Poppins arrives) and “West Wind” (how Mary Poppins leaves). But there are more characters in the books, such as the twins, Barbara and John, the little brother and sister of Jane and Michael, who have adventures of their own. But Mary Poppins is the same – prim and proper, and somewhat vain, and “practically perfect in every way.”

Pamela Lyndon Travers (1899-1996) is an interesting character herself. Born in Australia, she eventually ended up in London. During the second world war she worked for the British Ministry of Information. She also spent some time living among the Navajo, Hopi, and Pueblo peoples. In her later years she edited Parabola: the Magazine of Myth and Tradition. But mostly she’s known as the creator of Mary Poppins.

The books were illustrated by Mary Shepherd, who did a marvelous job of bringing Mary Poppins to life in a visual way, not only in the illustrations in the book, but also on the end papers and covers. Her father, E. H. Shepherd, illustrated the Winnie-the-Pooh books by A. A. Milne, as well as the 1931 edition of Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame. He was initially approached to illustrate the Mary Poppins books, but he was too busy. Travers discovered Mary Shepherd’s work on a Christmas card, and hired her instead. And the rest of history!

So, whether you picture Mary Poppins as Julie Andrews or Emily Blunt, or from the charming illustrations of Mary Shepherd, she will be a special character in the genre of children’s books, that uplifts and brings a smile (or maybe a laugh that will make you rise up to the ceiling).