Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, but dangerous...
Review: When I ordered Mary Poppins, I was expecting something similar to the OZ books by L. Frank Baum. Fairies and magic, innocent children, etc. I don't have serious qualms about such things... but Mary Poppins went seriously over the top in a few places. In one story, Michael and Jane were escorted to a zoo one evening, where due to the birthday of a special 'someone', the roles of animals and humans were (mostly) reversed. They find Mary Poppins in the Snake house surrounded by its inhabitants, and they learn that she is the first cousin (once removed) to a cobra-like snake, who is called the 'Lord of our world'... and I don't think that the inference can be drawn that it is simply the world of the animals! This is WAY too suggestive of Satan, and what is worse, this 'Lord' is portrayed in a good manner. I would not buy this book for my children (if I had any). There are other hints of dangerous things, but this one episode alone is enough to put it on my 'do not buy' list.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect in every way
Review: When the Banks' family needs a nanny, along comes Mary Poppins. Immediately she wins over the children Michael, Jane, and the twins. They all think that she's kind, but odd in a way. For instance she slides UP banisters instead of down them, she can understand everything the twins say, she speaks to animals, and she jumps into paintings with her friend Bert on her days off.This is a wonderful book. A little different than the movie, but just as enchanting. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy stories such as Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz.
Rating:
Summary: read these books!
Review: whether you're a child, a child at heart, or someone who wants to re-discover your childhood, read these Mary Poppins books! This is the first in P.L. Travers' Mary Poppins series. And no, Mary if not practically perfect, she is perfectly perfect! There are too many things that I love about these books to list them all: the comedy, the quotable quotes, the lessons to learn, the fabulous writing style. I'm so glad I discovered these great books; I urge everyone else to too at every chance I get! :)
Rating:
Summary: Will the Real Mary Please Stand Up
Review: Who WAS Mary Poppins, anyway? Well, as one who grew up with P.L. Travers' fabulous books, I can tell you who she was not. She did not give medicine with a spoonful of sugar, she was not a nauseatingly sweet airhead with an umbrella, and--guess what--she was NOT A NICE PERSON! Which is exactly why I and my friends loved her. Other reviewers have found all kinds of hidden meanings, from satanism to British racism, to describe this and the other Mary Poppins books, probably because of the shock of finding that the real thing has so much more depth than the sickening movie version. As a child in the 50s, I had no notion of British sensibilities or history, no clue about so-called satanism, and my sweet little child mind was ripe for all kinds of dire cult messages. But somehow, what I gleaned from these books was the best kind of adventure: an adult who wasn't really a parent, wasn't really a teacher, was definitely in charge--and yet strange magical things constantly happened in her presence. There were lessons to be learned: if Jane and Michael, the older children, misbehaved, the magic went awry. Badly awry. There was danger. There were consequences to their actions. Have a tantrum, and you just might wind up on the wrong end of an antique plate--trapped inside with no way out. Be rude to adults and other children, and your nice little world will change in ways you don't want to know about. But always, in the end, Mary Poppins was there to save the day without saying "I told you so." She was what so many modern children sorely lack: a strong parent figure. There was no spoiling, no giving in to whining demands (who would dare whine at Mary Poppins anyway?), and no indulgence. But there was also love and protection and security. Is it wrong to expose today's children to literature such as this that may be politically incorrect? That is a debate that is larger than this review. I can only say from experience that even as a child, I took these books for what they were: fiction. And I loved them. Give me my nasty, vain, pompous REAL Mary Poppins any day of the week. In my view, she wears well. Very, very, well.
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