3.4

I am not a huge fan of this book. Mary Poppins in the book was always very "cross" with the children and a vain person. I certainly enjoyed the movie much more than the book. ( )

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this re-reading it. I hadn't enjoyed it the first time I read it. Maybe it was because I knew what to expect. Mary is no Julie Andrews. She is very stern and serious. She leads the children of amazing adventures and tells them stories. She denies that anything unusual happened. There is no real plot, just a series of events. ( )

Dieci stelle alla Cortellesi, impareggiabile lettrice di questa storia unica. ( )

If it weren't for the chapters on Andrew the dog (who is NOT a "ninkypoop") and the babies John and Barbara, I would have rated this lower. I started out really liking this book, but when Mary Poppins continued to snap at the kids (and pretty much everyone else except the animals, who for some unknown reason adored her; her magical friends; oh, and Burt, who just drops out of the picture after one appearance) all the way through the book, I got kind of sick of her. She showed her true feelings, I guess, by showing them wonders, and maybe that's why they loved her so much, but she's cranky with them throughout and doesn't speak a kind word until the very end.

I started getting tired of the book when we met Mrs. Corrie, an awful and perplexing person who is Mary's friend. The zoo segment went on for too long (my irritation with the book was simmering by this time)and was the only time I didn't enjoy Sophie Thompson's excellent reading voice. The part with Christmas shopping was sickeningly cutesy.

Hmm. Maybe Mary Poppins rubbed off on me.

Usually the fantastic and the silly appeal to me, but I doubt I'll read another of these. I might, however, seek out other audio books read by Sophie Thompson. I'm not usually a fan of the movie adaptation over the book, but as for Mary Poppins, I'll stick with Julie Andrews. ( )