The last time I read Mary Poppins must have been when I was in elementary school. At the time, I remember being disappointed because it was not the same as the Disney movie, which I LOVED. (I was in third grade when I went to the theater to see Mary Poppins, and then I received the soundtrack album as a birthday present, my first LP record!! Very exciting--the record jacket was one of those fancy kind that opened up like a book.) Julie Andrews was so beautiful, and what a voice....happy memories.
Anyway, I vowed to have an open mind at this reading, and so I enjoyed it very much. Actually, the movie was closer to the book than I realized. The Disney screenwriters did a good job of translating this quirky little British book into a lovely movie, and the parts they chose to leave out were the weakest parts of the book. (The strange old lady who breaks off her FINGERS to give to the children to eat, and then new ones grow back? Yuck!!) Mary Poppins in the book is a vain, somewhat grumpy nanny, and the reader has to mostly assume the warm heart behind the crusty exterior. Julie Andrew's performance, with her twinkly eyes, is true to the character but much more likable. Kudos to Walt Disney for seeing the possibilities in this book and working so hard to bring it to the screen.
A fun little book to read, and a pleasant stroll down memory lane.
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