Mary Poppins Book response

The Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Returns books were nothing like I thought they were going to be. My expectation was a kind lovely Mary Poppins who takes the Banks children on one fantastical adventure. However, I found out that Mary Poppins was nothing like Julie Andrews and every chapter contained a (seemingly) unrelated adventure. However, that is not to say I was disappointed. The every adventure was whimsical and fantastical, and often made me think deeply. Mary Poppins as a character was not practically perfect in everyway, and was vain, strict, and aloof, yet the children still loved her.

Mary Poppins is a mysterious figure, who always knows what is going on yet never tells anyone. Like Jane and Michael I was constantly perplexed by the wondrous adventures and phenomenons in each chapter. I especially enjoyed the chapters that were not even focused on Michael and Jane, like the chapter about the cow jumping over the moon, or the dog who hated living the high life. I felt as though, while there were some clear differences between Michael and Jane (younger and elder, boy and girl) they were not given much depth or characterized much beyond that. This might be so that they can represent all children who are curious and who do not judge. In my opinion, the other secondary characters like the cow or the uncle, were given much more characterization and depth, since there was a whole chapter devoted to them. Since Mary Poppins, despite having a very distinct personality and mannerisms, is also not considerably characterized. I think this might be because she represents someone more than any one human could be, as nearly every chapter has someone or something praising her, telling her that no one is like her. Mary Poppins extraordinary presence, especially to Jane and Michael, emphasis just how ordinary the Banks are. The parents of the Banks are given even less screen time, so to speak. They are just the barely there parents who do not say anything or act out of the ordinary and are hardly memorable (or good parents).

 The most notable chapter to me, was the one that focused on the twins, John and Barbara. I thought it was fascinating how they were described as being just as or even more intelligent than those who were older than them, those considered to be adults. Their chapter was the chapter when I started understand what Mary Poppins (the book) was saying about childhood. They are described as being highly intelligent, but no one can understand them (except Mary Poppins of course). They can understand animals speak and the sounds of the wind and have very complex thoughts for being less than one years old. Of course, despite their beliefs they lose this ability on their first birthday. The twins’ abilities highlighted the importance of childhood innocence and creativity for me. What was most interesting to me, was the fact that Mary Poppins could also understand what they were saying and all the animals and wind that they could converse with. Her ability to do so truly highlighted her extraordinariness and singularity.