Tina Jordan and Maria Russo

While you’re waiting to see the film, or after you’ve seen it, here are some books that may strike your fancy.

“My Hollywood,” by Mona Simpson

In contemporary literature, at least, nannies and existential dread go together like peanut butter and jelly. Simpson’s novel is about Claire, a new mother who convinces herself that she’s unfit for motherhood and hires a nanny. But eventually she starts to worry that the nanny isn’t up to the job, either.

“Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P.L. Travers,” by Valerie Lawson

Author P.L. Travers published six Mary Poppins books, and Lawson is determined to tell her story. She’s an intrepid guide to a surprisingly difficult topic: Travers was extremely private and her personal life, though fascinating, was confusing.

“A Gate at the Stairs,” by Lorrie Moore

Set in a Midwestern college town in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, this novel by the always absorbing Moore introduces Tassie Keltjin, a student who “finds work as the nanny-in-waiting for a brainy couple awkwardly on the verge of adoption.”

“Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary,” by Anita Anand

In the 1964 “Mary Poppins,” the suffrage movement as embraced by Mrs. Banks provided comic relief, but in Anand’s biography of Sophia Duleep Singh, suffragists deserve — and get — serious attention. A Punjabi princess and Queen Victoria’s goddaughter, Sophia becomes “a celebrated London fashion plate and then a steely suffragist.”

“The Anthropology of Childhood: Cherubs, Chattels, Changelings,” by David F. Lancey

You don’t need a Mary Poppins to raise your children — what you need is this book, which will remind you that “children are raised in all sorts of ways, and they all turn out just fine.”

“The Nanny Diaries,” by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

A parent’s worst nightmare: The nanny has been taking notes on how you treat your child and, let’s just say, it’s not pretty. But the stories are hilarious, though probably awkward for some to read. When this book was published in 2002 it caused quite an uproar in certain Manhattan circles.

“The Perfect Nanny,” by Leila Slimani

Ripped from the headlines, a nanny snaps and kills the children. But this is more than a psychological thriller, it is an “intimate analysis of the special relationship between a mother and a nanny.” “The Perfect Nanny” is one of The Times’ 10 Best Books of 2018.

Mrs. Noodlekugel books, by Daniel Pinkwater

These early chapter books, begun in 2013 — “Mrs. Noodlekugel,” “Mrs. Noodlekugel and Four Blind Mice,” “Mrs. Noodlekugel and Drooly the Bear” — feature a brother and sister who move to a cramped apartment building. There, they discover a secret backyard that is home to the magical Mrs. Noodlekugel — who becomes the children’s baby sitter, of course — and her talking cats. (Ages 6 to 9)

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, by Betty MacDonald

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, introduced in 1947, is a fun-loving, slightly kooky nanny who helps the misbehaving children in her neighborhood (and there are a lot of them) overcome bad habits with magic that looks like common sense. The “Show-Off Cure,” for instance, is a powder that makes the little culprit invisible every time he starts showing off. There’s also a delightful updated spinoff series, written by Ann M. Martin (author of the Baby-Sitters Club series) and Annie Parnell, that’s set in the present day. In these books, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s niece, Missy, inherits her aunt’s upside-down house and her mission. (Ages 8 to 12)

The Nurse Matilda books, by Christianna Brand

Published in the 1960s, these books — featuring an English family with a huge and ever-growing number of very naughty children and a dauntless nanny who teaches them how to behave, always amusingly — were the inspiration for the movie “Nanny McPhee.” Edward Ardizzone’s old-school black-and-white illustrations are a marvel, too. (Ages 8 to 12)

“Emmeline Pankhurst,” by Lisbeth Kaiser

This small, stylish book, part of the Little People, Big Dreams series, will introduce young children to the suffragists and their cause via a brief biography of Pankhurst, the real-life British heroine who led the fight to gain women the right to vote. Her adventurous life and fierce political struggles — which included harrowing stints in prison — are explained in a simple, inspirational way, and leavened by Ana Sanfelippo’s charming illustrations. (Ages 5 to 8)

“The Penderwicks,” by Jeanne Birdsall

Mrs. Churchill, known as Churchie, may be a secondary character — she takes care of the Penderwicks’ poor-little-rich-boy friend Jeffrey — but she is the very model of child-care perfection: warm, sensible, intuitive, ever-helpful. (Ages 8 to 12)

The Melendy Quartet, by Elizabeth Enright

“The Saturdays,” “The Four-Story Mistake,” “Then There Were Five” and “Spiderweb for Two” make up a sprightly 1940s series about the motherless Melendy children of New York, whose loving, distracted father leaves it to their beloved no-nonsense nanny, Cuffy,to supervise their many adventures. (Ages 9 to 12)

“Harriet the Spy,” by Louise Fitzhugh

Let us not forget that in another classic of Manhattan childhood, “Harriet the Spy,” it is not 11-year-old Harriet but her formidable nanny, Ole Golly, who comes up with the idea of filling a journal with everything our little heroine sees and thinks. The rest, as they say, is history. (Ages 8 to 12)

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/books/mary-poppins-returns-books.html" id="9cc89364-8d43-33cb-ae80-81022c81c478">The New York Times</a>.

“Mary Poppins Returns” opened this month, and given its cast — British actress Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton” musical fame — it’s going to be catnip for many theatergoers, just as the original Disney movie staring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke was more than 50 years ago.

Love 'Mary Poppins Returns'? You'll Love These Books, Too -- No Matter How Old You Are

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Tina Jordan and Maria Russo

Articles written by the author

Love 'Mary Poppins Returns'? You'll Love These Books, Too -- No Matter How Old You Are