As I've mentioned in other recent Fiction Friday posts, I'm so thrilled that my daughter is now old enough for me to read novels with at bedtime. A few months ago, we read the first Mary Poppins book and she really enjoyed it. I'd had the second book for years, but had never ventured to read it, so it was a treat to be able to read something with her that I had never read before. Sometimes there are classics that don't hold up well, and then there are books like Mary Poppins...
Mary Poppins Comes Back by P.L. Travers
(Harcourt 2006, First Published 1935)
The world's most famous nanny abruptly left the Banks family of Cherry Tree Lane at the end of the first novel, leaving Jane and Micheal wondering if they'd ever again see the stern woman they'd come to love. But one thing they never lost sight of was that Mary Poppins is full of surprises. So one day, while flying a kite in the park, they are not at all surprised to find Mary Poppins descending on the string after the kite disappears into the clouds.
During her second stint as the nanny for the Banks children, her stay is once again riddled with unbelievable and impossible occurrences that leave Jane and Micheal perplexed and mesmerized. Of course, being the proper English lady that she is, Mary Poppins never admits that their fantastical adventures together ever truly happened, but the children know better.
The joy of these books, beyond the pure imaginative escapades, is that there is no moral lesson being thrust upon the readers. These are books are entertainment and fun. They are filled with clever word play, wonderfully true dialogue, and unexpected adventures...all the ingredients that make for a timeless story.
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