Saturday, December 27, 2014

Books 25-30

My last 6 books on my Empty Shelf for 2014 are 6 Mary Poppins books in one volume.
"Mary Poppins"
Caused me to sing almost every Mary Poppins song in my head :) This book is full of nostalgia! Great read!
"Mary Poppins Comes Back"
Not as many movie memories, but everything seemed like it very well could have been in the movie.
My one issue with the book Mary is, she is very conceited, she is so very concerned with her looks above all else. However, she almost seems to be royalty to all she comes in contact with. This could be a reason for her always needing to look her best.
"Mary Poppins Opens The Door"
The children only act well with Mary, as soon as she is gone, they are back to their old ways. She comes back & knows they have been bad & reprimands them for it. This is sad to me because in the movie she seemed to have truly made a difference in their lives & didn't leave until they had truly changed.
"Mary Poppins In The Park"
The author says before this book that the remaining stories take place during Mary Poppins' visits in the previous 3 books, because "she cannot forever arrive and depart".
The books are good for reading a chapter (possibly to a young child) & ending there to pick up again another day. Each chapter begins an adventure, & ends the adventure all in a day's (or night's) time.
"Mary Poppins In Cherry Tree Lane"
The last 2 books in this set are short stories rather than novels. This short story was told from the Park Keeper's point of view as opposed to the children's like the previous books. It was about a very weird day as the park keeper saw it, & it came across as a very weird day even for a Mary Poppins book. I finished this one in a day, so a fun short read.
"Mary Poppins And The House Next Door"
The last book in this collection (there are 2 more Mary Poppins books not in this set) is another short story. This one is about Mr. Banks childhood nanny moving in next door. This woman is made out to be strictest person you could meet, and she has a little boy living with her who she is teaching to be an upstanding citizen. This short story felt different than the other books, it focused on the kids & not so much on Mary Poppins, which I suppose has to happen if she is going to be able to eventually leave them as upstanding citizens.
At the end, in the prelude, the writer says Mary Poppins did not write down to children as she felt other authors do. I agree with and appreciate this statement. These books are a great read for everyone!
30 books in one year! Thank you for allowing me to challenge myself with this Empty Shelf Challenge! How many books did you read in 2014?

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