Compare and contrast the Mary Poppins of Walt Disney’s imagination with the original Mary Poppins. Who is the more interesting nanny and why?

Sometimes, authors for young readers include topics for older readers in the narrative. What are three examples of this, and why are they important to the book as a whole?

Mary Poppins mocks the Starling when it sheds a tear upon realizing that the twins are no longer able to speak in the special language of nature. Discuss this sense of loss from the Starling’s point of view, as well as your own.