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The Gingerbread Shop: A Story from "Mary Poppins"
Based on "Mrs. Corry" from the book Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers.
- GenresChildrens
26 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1934
79 people want to read
About the author
P.L. Travers
82 books734 followersPamela Lyndon Travers was an Australian novelist, actress and journalist, popularly remembered for her series of children's novels about mystical nanny Mary Poppins.
She was born to bank manager Travers Robert Goff and Margaret Agnes. Her father died when she was seven, and although "epileptic seizure delirium" was given as the cause of death, Travers herself "always believed the underlying cause was sustained, heavy drinking".
Travers began to publish her poems while still a teenager and wrote for The Bulletin and Triad while also gaining a reputation as an actress. She toured Australia and New Zealand with a Shakespearean touring company before leaving for England in 1924. There she dedicated herself to writing under the pen name P. L. Travers.
In 1925 while in Ireland, Travers met the poet George William Russell who, as editor of The Irish Statesman, accepted some of her poems for publication. Through Russell, Travers met William Butler Yeats and other Irish poets who fostered her interest in and knowledge of world mythology. Later, the mystic Gurdjieff would have a great effect on her, as would also have on several other literary figures.
The 1934 publication of Mary Poppins was Travers' first literary success.Five sequels followed, as well as a collection of other novels, poetry collections and works of non-fiction.
The Disney musical adaptation was released in 1964. Primarily based on the first novel in what was then a sequence of four books, it also lifted elements from the sequel Mary Poppins Comes Back. Although Travers was an adviser to the production she disapproved of the dilution of the harsher aspects of Mary Poppins's character, felt ambivalent about the music and disliked the use of animation to such an extent that she ruled out any further adaptations of the later Mary Poppins novels. At the film's star-studded premiere, she reportedly approached Disney and told him that the animated sequence had to go. Disney responded by saying "Pamela, the ship has sailed." and walked away. Travers would never again agree to another Poppins/Disney adaptation, though Disney made several attempts to persuade her to change her mind.
So fervent was Travers' dislike of the Walt Disney adaptation and the way she felt she had been treated during the production, that well into her 90s, when she was approached by producer Cameron Mackintosh to do the stage musical, she only acquiesced upon the condition that only English born writers (and specifically no Americans) and no one from the film production were to be directly involved with the creative process of the stage musical. This specifically excluded the Sherman Brothers from writing additional songs for the production even though they were still very prolific. Original songs and other aspects from the 1964 film were allowed to be incorporated into the production however. These points were stipulated in her last will and testament.
Travers was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1977. She died in London in 1996.
Although Travers never married, she adopted a boy when she was in her late 30s.
She was born to bank manager Travers Robert Goff and Margaret Agnes. Her father died when she was seven, and although "epileptic seizure delirium" was given as the cause of death, Travers herself "always believed the underlying cause was sustained, heavy drinking".
Travers began to publish her poems while still a teenager and wrote for The Bulletin and Triad while also gaining a reputation as an actress. She toured Australia and New Zealand with a Shakespearean touring company before leaving for England in 1924. There she dedicated herself to writing under the pen name P. L. Travers.
In 1925 while in Ireland, Travers met the poet George William Russell who, as editor of The Irish Statesman, accepted some of her poems for publication. Through Russell, Travers met William Butler Yeats and other Irish poets who fostered her interest in and knowledge of world mythology. Later, the mystic Gurdjieff would have a great effect on her, as would also have on several other literary figures.
The 1934 publication of Mary Poppins was Travers' first literary success.Five sequels followed, as well as a collection of other novels, poetry collections and works of non-fiction.
The Disney musical adaptation was released in 1964. Primarily based on the first novel in what was then a sequence of four books, it also lifted elements from the sequel Mary Poppins Comes Back. Although Travers was an adviser to the production she disapproved of the dilution of the harsher aspects of Mary Poppins's character, felt ambivalent about the music and disliked the use of animation to such an extent that she ruled out any further adaptations of the later Mary Poppins novels. At the film's star-studded premiere, she reportedly approached Disney and told him that the animated sequence had to go. Disney responded by saying "Pamela, the ship has sailed." and walked away. Travers would never again agree to another Poppins/Disney adaptation, though Disney made several attempts to persuade her to change her mind.
So fervent was Travers' dislike of the Walt Disney adaptation and the way she felt she had been treated during the production, that well into her 90s, when she was approached by producer Cameron Mackintosh to do the stage musical, she only acquiesced upon the condition that only English born writers (and specifically no Americans) and no one from the film production were to be directly involved with the creative process of the stage musical. This specifically excluded the Sherman Brothers from writing additional songs for the production even though they were still very prolific. Original songs and other aspects from the 1964 film were allowed to be incorporated into the production however. These points were stipulated in her last will and testament.
Travers was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1977. She died in London in 1996.
Although Travers never married, she adopted a boy when she was in her late 30s.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 5, 2019
Mary Poppins takes Jane and Michael to gingerbread shop run by the mysterious Mrs. Corry.
Inspired by nostalgia after reading Amy Novesky's new picture book adaptation of Mary Poppins, I dug through my old Golden Books in search of the Mary Poppins books I read as a child. The gingerbread shop was my favorite Mary Poppins adventure, and while it's told in a very abbreviated form in Novesky's adaptation of Mary Poppins, this Little Golden Book describes the incident in fuller detail.
The story is both intriguing and disturbing. While out running errands, Mary Poppins visits a strange gingerbread shop in what appears to be an abandoned storefront. The proprietor is an elderly lady named Mrs. Corry who is an old acquaintance of Mary Poppins's. When they first arrive, Mrs. Corry snaps off two of her fingers and gives them to the Jane and Michael. New fingers instantly grow in their place while the old fingers turn into sugar candy, which the children munch unperturbed. As a child, I found this detail to be deeply unsettling.
After purchasing the gingerbread by sticking two coins to Mrs. Corry's dress, she inquires what they will do with the golden paper stars that decorate each piece. They respond that they will keep the stars and reveal the locations of their treasure stashes. Later that evening Mary Poppins slips into their room and retrieves the stars before going out.
Jane and Michael immediately run to the window and see her meet Mrs. Corry at the gate. Mrs. Corry and Mary Poppins then climb ladders propped up against thin air and paste the stars into the night sky where they transform into real stars. The story concludes with Jane's philosophical musing, "Are the stars gold paper or is the gold paper stars?"
The text is more complex and at a higher reading level than most contemporary picture books, and the illustrations are highly detailed.
Inspired by nostalgia after reading Amy Novesky's new picture book adaptation of Mary Poppins, I dug through my old Golden Books in search of the Mary Poppins books I read as a child. The gingerbread shop was my favorite Mary Poppins adventure, and while it's told in a very abbreviated form in Novesky's adaptation of Mary Poppins, this Little Golden Book describes the incident in fuller detail.
The story is both intriguing and disturbing. While out running errands, Mary Poppins visits a strange gingerbread shop in what appears to be an abandoned storefront. The proprietor is an elderly lady named Mrs. Corry who is an old acquaintance of Mary Poppins's. When they first arrive, Mrs. Corry snaps off two of her fingers and gives them to the Jane and Michael. New fingers instantly grow in their place while the old fingers turn into sugar candy, which the children munch unperturbed. As a child, I found this detail to be deeply unsettling.
After purchasing the gingerbread by sticking two coins to Mrs. Corry's dress, she inquires what they will do with the golden paper stars that decorate each piece. They respond that they will keep the stars and reveal the locations of their treasure stashes. Later that evening Mary Poppins slips into their room and retrieves the stars before going out.
Jane and Michael immediately run to the window and see her meet Mrs. Corry at the gate. Mrs. Corry and Mary Poppins then climb ladders propped up against thin air and paste the stars into the night sky where they transform into real stars. The story concludes with Jane's philosophical musing, "Are the stars gold paper or is the gold paper stars?"
The text is more complex and at a higher reading level than most contemporary picture books, and the illustrations are highly detailed.
February 15, 2018
Found this delightfulness in an antique store and it was an awesome way to introduce the 3-year-old to book Mary Poppins before he saw the movie. Straight out of the P.L Travers original, and one of my favorites from it, this is a heavily illustrated Golden Book version especially for littles too young for the full book. Illustrated in the style of the original. Delightful.
December 11, 2007
idk this is one book that is better to see the movie but if u seen the movie first then u can put the notes with the words and then it might be better but i would say that for this book i would rather watch the movie than read the book.
November 4, 2024
Quirky and charming! The lovely illustrations in this very vintage Little Golden Book are entirely worth the read. Although I found the story of Mary Poppins not quite as fun, lighthearted and entertaining as the Disney movie, this excerpt from the book is a good one.
Mary Poppins takes the children on a little excursion to buy some gingerbread cookies with interesting results. It's a little ridiculous and a bit like a fairy tale, but I really liked it. Happy to have this book in my children's book collection.
Mary Poppins takes the children on a little excursion to buy some gingerbread cookies with interesting results. It's a little ridiculous and a bit like a fairy tale, but I really liked it. Happy to have this book in my children's book collection.
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October 5, 2007Once upon a time.....
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews