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~ MARVELOUS MIDDLE-GRADE
MONDAY RETRO FICTION FEATURE ~
-- 'WALT DISNEY'S MARY POPPINS' --
AUTHOR GEORGESS MCHARGUE
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ABOUT THE BOOK {from Amazon}:
Walt Disney's Mary Poppins [based on the Walt Disney motion picture]
story adapted by Georgess McHargue, with photographs from the motion picture,
illustrations by Betty Fraser and Craig Pineo (Golden Press, New York). This
book is a companion to the movie. A must-have for fans of Mary Poppins. Based
on the Walt Disney motion picture.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR {from Goodreads}:
Georgess McHargue was author of 35 books for children and young adults,
some focused on archaeology, myth, and history.
She was born in New York City, the only child of Mac and Georgess (Boomhower)
McHargue. She was often referred to as “Little G,’’ and, until her death, “G.’’
At 10 months, she posed for Squibb Cod Liver Oil. She was precocious and a
storyteller, even in kindergarten. “The world as I knew it was entirely
predicated on words - their use and misuse, their dissection, accumulation and
glorification,’’ she wrote in an autobiography for one of her publishers.
Ms. McHargue graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard in 1963
with a major in history and literature. She went to New York and got a job in
publishing with Golden Press for two years and then, “spent three months
traveling around Greece and Italy honing her language skills,’’ she wrote.
Back in New York, she worked as trade-publisher for Doubleday & Co. for
five years. “I was active in local and national political campaigns, civil
rights organizations and a variety of now-defunct peace and feminist groups,’’
she wrote. “I was splashed with yellow paint at a demonstration on lower Fifth
Avenue and partially gassed in front of the Washington Monument.’’
She was nominated for a National Book Award for her first book in 1968, “The
Beasts of Never,’’ and wrote many reviews over the years for The New York Times
Book Review.
Georgess love of horses remained strong throughout her life. In a poem she
wrote, “When I Go,’’ Ms. McHargue expresses her love for them.
It begins, “When I go, I will go with the horses/Look for me where the long
manes/and the long grass are tossing together’’ and ends, “Do not look for me
among the twittering birds./When I go I will go with the horses.’’
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MY THOUGHTS:
My favorite movie
when I was a young girl was 'Mary Poppins'. To this day, Julie Andrews is one
of my all-time favorite actresses and vocalists. She is lovely in every way. I
still have my set of 45 records with songs from this movie which I received for
my seventh birthday! As an adult, I received a video tape of the movie in one
of those fancy Disney video boxes they used to make. I still have the video,
too. I also have several 'vinyl' records of her music including a Christmas
album.
You can imagine the
thrill I felt when I found the book I'm featuring today on the Children's
Fiction table at a friends of the library book sale several years ago. The
cover price is 69 cents; the price written on the inside cover from the library
sale is 25 cents! Although the cover is a bit tattered (which I think is a good
thing because it proves this was a well-loved book), the book is in excellent
condition.
The cover of the book
I have is a little bit different than the cover image I'm sharing here. Mine
has a lavender background and a hand-illustrated frame around the oval photo of
Julie Andrews in character as Mary Poppins. The illustrations surrounding the
photo include pigeons, her straw hat, flowers, the umbrella she is holding in
the photo, and a pocket watch—all clues to what lies inside the covers of the
book.
The book begins with
a synopsis of 'The Production' and short biographies of Julie Andrews and Dick
Van Dyke. Next, the publishers present full-page color photographs from the
movie. The narrative throughout the book is interspersed with illustrations of
scenes from the movie and photographs from the movie.
The still photos from
the movie which include Dick Van Dyke, Julie Andrews, and the children—Jane and
Michael Banks—capture the on-screen chemistry between Bert the chimney sweep
and Mary the nanny perfectly. It was magical way back then, and it remains so
in this book.
The book ends with 'The Cast' and 'Credits' listed just as it would have appeared on the end of the film.
Of course, there are many
memorable scenes depicted from the movie in this book. But as an adult, I am
certain nothing can surpass the feeling I had as a young girl sitting in an
old-time, full-sized movie theater and watching the beauty, charm, and magic of
this story play out on the big screen.
The next book on my
TBR list to request from our public library system will be the first Mary
Poppins book written by P.J. Travers and originally published in 1934. When I
accomplish that goal, I will post another 'Retro Fiction Feature' spotlighting
that book.
Question: Do you have a favorite movie from your childhood that was adapted from a book? I'd love to hear about it! Please comment on this blog post. Thanks.
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Find
the links to read more great Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts from
middle-grade authors and bloggers at Greg Pattridge's 'Always in the Middle' Blog.
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