Mary Poppins in the Park

The first three books had a cohesiveness to them, this one however reads as if P. L. Travers simply phoned in a handful of half-formed ideas. The magic is getting stale and the sweetness quotient insufferable...I think it's time for Poppins to pack it in.

Who else but Mary Poppins can lead the Banks children on such extraordinary adventures? Together they all meet the Goosegirl and the Swineherd, argue with talking cats on a distant planet, make the acquaintance of the folks who live under dandelions, and celebrate a birthday by dancing with their own shadows. And that's just for starters!

So, it seems that these are the stories that didn't fit in the trilogy. Well, I'm certainly glad they found their way into print under Travers' watch, instead of being found in a drawer and published posthumously... because whenever that happens the stories aren't actually ready for publication. These were marvelous. Perhaps made even more so by the fact that it's the first day of this year that I can sit outside and read... and so I did, and read this book in one afternoon. Lovely.

Apart from the last story which was maybe a bridge too far in terms of repetitiveness, i overall really enjoyed that.

Maybe it was because i paced these 6 tales out, only reading one every 3 or 4 days. Also, knowing that these are extraneous stories i think helped rather than hindered.

You might have thought that this being just extra stuff would reduce the enjoyment but most Poppins stories feel episodic anyway, but they’re stuck inside a novel, at least here your braced for random episodes rather than expecting an extended story-arc.

The downside to these is the repetitiveness mentioned above. Not only the general repetitiveness of the stories when compared to other Poppins tales but also an internal repetitiveness. Several of these show more have long sections of multiple characters showing up and doing the same actions.

Still for whatever reasons 5 of these 6 really hit the spot, in particular, Lucky Thursday is nicely disturbed :P and the Children in the Story has some Matrix, what's real? elements, that i thought was pretty interesting. show less

P.L. Travers warns up front that this volume is not the fourth in the series in the sense of being the further adventures of the magical nanny Mary Poppins. Rather, these are adventures that date mostly from the time of Mary Poppins Comes Back and Mary Poppins Opens the Door. As Travers says, “She [Mary Poppins] cannot forever arrive and depart.”

Some of the characters from the previous books reappear — Fred Smith, the imperious Park Keeper; Admiral Boom, the Bird Woman of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the prissy Miss Lucinda Lark and her dogs, Mrs. Corry and her giant daughters, Egbert the Policeman, the Lord Mayor of London, and Bert the Match Man — but quite a few new ones emerge, too: a trio of charming princes, Mr. Mo and his tiny show more park and family, some literal shadow people, and the denizens of a cat star. Some of the adventures are delightful — “The Children in the Story,” which will especially resonate with adults — while some are simply enjoyable enough.

While not quite in the same league as the 1934 debut Mary Poppins or 1943’s Mary Poppins Opens the Door, readers — whether children or adults — will be happy to have Mary Poppins in the Park so as to once again visit with the Banks children and most famous nanny of all time. There is definitely life in the old girl yet! show less

Who else but Mary Poppins can lead the Banks children on such extraordinary adventures? Together they all meet the Goosegirl and the Swineherd, argue with talking cats on a distant planet, make the acquaintance of the folks who live under dandelions, and celebrate a birthday by dancing with their own shadows. And that’s just for starters!

This actually is not a separate visit from stern and charming Mary Poppins but adventures that happened in her prior visits. Still, most children will love a magical and extraordinary adventure in the park with Mary Poppins.

Some of the characters from the previous books reappear including , the imperious Park Keeper, Fred Smith; Miss Lucinda Lark and her dogs, Mrs. Corry and her giant daughters, Egbert the Policeman, , and Bert the Match Man. Some new ones emerge, too: a trio of charming princes, Mr. Mo and his tiny park and family, a cat star. Some of the adventures are delightful while some are simply enjoyable enough.

Mary Poppins, you see, never, ever explains. But, she always entertains.