Mary Poppins is a series of eight children's books written by Australian-British writer P. L. Travers and published over the period 1934 to 1988.

The books centre on the magical English nanny Mary Poppins, who is blown by the East wind to Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, and into the Bankses' household to care for their children.

"[4] The books were adapted by Walt Disney into a musical film titled Mary Poppins (1964), starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.

When the children's nanny, Katie Nanna, storms out in a huff, Mary Poppins arrives at their home, complete with her travelling carpet bag, blown in by a very strong east wind.

She accepts the job (agreeing to stay "till the wind changes"), and the children soon learn that their nanny, though stern, vain and usually cross, has a magical touch that makes her wonderful.

Among the things Jane and Michael experience are a tea party on a ceiling with Mr Wigg, a trip around the world with a compass, the purchase of gingerbread stars from the extremely old Mrs Corry, a meeting with the Bird Woman, a birthday party at the zoo among the animals, and a Christmas shopping trip with a star named Maia from the Pleiades cluster in the constellation Taurus.

In 1981 a second revision replaced people with animals; original illustrator Mary Shepard altered the four compass points in the accompanying drawing to show a polar bear at the north, a macaw at the south, a panda at the east, and a dolphin at the west.

[6] Mary Poppins had been banned from circulation in the San Francisco Public Library system in 1980 due to the negative stereotyping.

This time, Jane and Michael meet the fearsome Miss Andrew, experience an upside-down tea party, and visit a circus in the sky.

Once again she takes up nanny duties in the Banks household and leads Jane, Michael, the toddler twins John and Barbara (as well as the new baby girl Annabel) on various magical adventures.

This time, they visit her cousin Fred Twigley, befriend a statue that has come to life, go riding on peppermint horses, and experience a garden party under the sea.

This fourth book contains six adventures of the Banks children with Mary Poppins during their outings in the park along Cherry Tree Lane.

Twenty-six vignettes (one for each letter of the alphabet) weave unexpected tales of Mary Poppins, the Banks children, and other characters from Travers's previous novels.

Mary Poppins takes the Banks children on yet another memorable adventure, this time on the magical Midsummer's Eve.

The residents of Cherry Tree Lane are distressed to learn that their beloved Number Eighteen, an empty house for which each neighbour has created an imaginary, wished-for tenant, is about to be occupied by Mr. Banks' childhood governess, Miss Andrew, otherwise known as "the Holy Terror".

Her dreaded arrival brings a pleasant surprise as well, for Luti, a boy from the South Seas, has accompanied her as both servant and student.

Delighted by the prospect of a new friend, Jane and Michael are frustrated by the restrictions that the hypochondriacal Miss Andrew has placed on Luti, who grows more and more homesick for his family and tropical surroundings.

When the call in his heart to return home becomes more than he can bear, it is Mary Poppins who makes the trip possible by means of a visit to the Man in the Moon.

Jane and Michael are the eldest and go on most of the magical adventures with Mary Poppins; they are the most prominent and vocal of the Banks children.

His role in the stage musical is similar to the film, but he has an additional back-story drawn from the original books, in which he was ignored by his parents and tormented by a cruel governess during his childhood.

Travers wrote the Mary Poppins novels as a form of atonement for her inability as a child to save her own father from his own flaws.

This theme of fatherly salvation notably formed the basis of the major dramatic moments in the 1964 film, including the climax involving Mr Banks's sombre nighttime walk through London.

In the books, she is the struggling mistress of the Banks household, and is easily intimidated by Mary Poppins, who treats her with thinly veiled contempt.

He secretly yearns for his childhood, and finds any opportunity to join the Banks children's games such as kite flying and fireworks.

In the 1964 Disney film, Bert (portrayed by Dick Van Dyke[9]) is a combination of the Matchman and the Sweep and has a more prominent role in the children's adventures, including taking care of Mary's Uncle Albert and giving Mr. Banks sensible parenting advice.

He is a former Naval Officer, but now lives in a house shaped like a ship with his wife Mrs Boom and his assistant, Binnacle, who is a former pirate.

He is remarkable for his use of colourful sailor's language, although, as the books are intended for children, he never actually swears; his favourite interjection is "Blast my gizzard!"

In the film he is a neighbour of the Banks family who fires his cannon to mark the time; this version of the Admiral is far less salty and more of a proper, "Shipshape and Bristol fashion" kind of sailor, insistent on order and punctuality.

In the books, the Banks have three domestic workers in addition to Mary Poppins: Ellen, Mrs. Brill, and Robertson Ay.