- four ordinary London-dwelling children get a new nanny who is anything but ordinary
- Mary brings the children into all sorts of strange situations with magical elements* which teach a variety of life lessons
- Mary is always stern, vain, snappy and serious (never gentle or nice)
- other convo points: a shop owner meanly belittles her daughters, a child runs around naked
- language: golly x3, L*rdy x2, blast x2, shut up x1
Type: chapter book
Ages: 6-10
Author: P.L. Travers
*Some of the magic comes across as mildly amusing while other parts are surprisingly dark. In one scene, a snake (a hamadryad) was recognized as the “wisest of all animals” who gives a speech that “we are all one” amidst some strange chanting and swaying.
This was an extremely rare occasion when we knew the movie (1964) before the book, and the only instance I can think of where we preferred the movie! I still recommend reading it for being familiar with a classic children’s book, but if you love Julie Andrews, it’ll be hard to reconcile. 🙂