Also known as Mary V. Carey Personal: Born May 19, 1925, in New Brighton, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England; brought to the United States in 1925, naturalized citizen in 1955; daughter of John Cornelius (an engineer) and Mary Alice (Hughes) Carey. Home address in 1993 was 3748 Birch St., Ventura, CA.
Ms Carey passed away in 1994.
Education: College of Mount St. Vincent, B.S., 1946.
Religion: Roman Catholic
Career: Coronet, New York City, editorial associate, 1948 - 55; Walt Disney Productions, Burbank, CA, assistant editor of publications, 1955 - 69; free-lance writer 1969 - 1994.
Member: PEN; Mystery Writers of America; Society of Children's Book Writers; Women in Communications.
Awards, Honors: Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People Award, 1986, for "A Place for Allie".
Hobbies and Interests: Walking on the beach.
Writings: Novelizations of Walt Disney Motion Pictures: (With George Sherman) WD's "Babes in Toyland" Golden Press, 1961. WD's "The Sword in the Stone" Whitman, 1963. The Story of Walt Disney's Motion Picture "Mary Poppins" Whitman, 1964. WD's "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" Whitman, 1964. WD's "Donald Duck and the Lost Mesa Ranch" Whitman, 1966. The Story of WD's Motion Picture "Jungle Book" Whitman, 1967. The Story of WD's Motion Picture "Blackbeard's Ghost" Whitman, 1968. "Mrs. Brisby's Important Package" (adapted from film "The Secret of NIMH), Golden Press, 1982.
Juveniles: "Raggedy Ann and the Glad and Sad Day", Golden Press, 1972. "Little Lulu and the Birthday Surprise, Whitman, 1973. "The Tawny, Scrawny Lio and the Clever Monkey" Golden Press, 1974. "Alonzo Purr, the Seagoing Cat", Western Pub., 1974. "The Owl Who Loved Sunshine", Golden Press, 1977. "The Gremlin's Storybook", Golden Press, 1984.
The Three Investigators Mystery Series (Random House): "The Mystery of the: #15 Flaming Footprints, 1971. #17 Singing Serpent, 1972. #20 Monster Mountain, 1973. #21 The Secret of the Haunted Mirror, 1974. #23 Invisible Dog, 1975. #24 Death Trap Mine, 1976. #27 Magic Circle, 1978. #29 Sinister Scarecrow, 1979. #31 Scar-Faced Beggar, 1981. #32 Blazing Cliffs, 1981. #34 Wandering Cave Man, 1982. #36 Missing Mermaid, 1984. #39 Trail of Terror, 1984. #41 Creep-Show Crooks, 1985. #43 Cranky Collector, 1987 FYF#8 The Case of the Savage Statue, 1987.
Other: (Editor) Jane Black, "The Indispensables", Hewitt House, 1971. "Step-by-step Candlemaking", Golden Press, 1972. "Step-by-step Winemaking", Golden Press, 1973. "Love Is Forever" (collection of prose and poetry), C.R. Gibson, 1975. (With George Sherman) "A Compendium of Bunk", C.C. Thomas, 1976. (Editor) "Grandmothers Are Very Special People", C.R. Gibson, 1977. "A Place for Allie" (young adult novel), Dodd, 1985.
Sidelights: Carey told Contemporary Authors: "I began writing late; my first articles and stories were published after I was thirty, and I was motivated by money. Money is not a bad motivation. The need to eat keeps us from laziness, and the fact that someone is willing to pay to read what we write assures us that we have indeed written."
"I think that writing should be honest and simple, and it should say something about what it means to be a person. When God is good to us, we write in such a way that the act of reading becomes a pleasure to those who buy our books. This experience doesn't happen all the time, but when it does it is at least as heady as winning the Irish sweepstakes. It makes mere competence seem dull. It is probably also what makes writing a compulsive occupation; some of us are uncomfortable when we are away from our typewriters for any length of time."
"My lifelong ambition, aside from writing, is to finish exploring the American West. This should keep me busy for at least another thirty years, since there is a
I find it interesting that Walt Disney Productions felt it was necessary to include a disclaimer, stating that the book was based on the Disney screenplay and not on the original P.L. Travers stories. These days, I think that people are generally more familiar with the celebrated film than with the book series that inspired it. It was also interesting for me to note the slight differences between this book and the finished film. And it was enlightening at times to be given insights into the characters thoughts and motivations that didn't always come across well onscreen. But for the most part, this book was a straightforward retelling of the film, a film that many readers probably have memorized due to repeated rewatchings as children. Did I like it? The material was overly familiar, but there were enough new insights that I enjoyed it overall. Would I reread it? No. Would I recommend it? I worry that purists would find too many deviations, and that casual readers would find the text boring due to already being overexposed to the material.