I never read this as a child, but I did see the Disney movie. However, it’s been so long since I saw the movie that I can’t recall much about it other than “Supercalifrag…”–you know–and, while there’s a medicine scene here, it certainly didn’t ring any memory bells. I suspect that Disney was true to form and took quite a few liberties with the story. On its own, the book is quite disjointed. I can see where it might work on a read-aloud a chapter-per-night basis, but in one sitting it was hurried and almost nonsensical. Part of my dissatisfaction could be that I am not the intended audience, but I feel that children’s books like children’s movies should be able to grab both the interest of children and adults alike, at least once.

I’m going to have to file Mary Poppins with Norman Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth as another children’s book that I just missed out on. Thankfully, I was able to still appreciate books like The Adventures of Pinocchio and James and the Giant Peach (soon to be a movie, directed by Tim Burton), although I had not read those as a child.

[Finished November 1995]