Readers bring books to life.

P.L. Travers, author of the well loved Mary Poppins would be 113 years old today. In addition to creating one of the most well known and loved character in a children’s book, she wrote extensively about the power and influence story has on our lives. Travers informed my long held belief that a book is only half complete once it is written. It takes a reader to complete the book— readers bring books to life. And Travers wisely said:

“A writer is, after all, only half his book. The other half is the reader and from the reader the writer learns.”
~ P.L. Travers

A bit of trivia— (born Helen Lyndon Goff; 9 August 1899 – 23 April 1996) was an Australian-born novelist, actress and journalist. In 1924 she immigrated to England where she wrote under the pen name P. L. Travers.
For those who think of the author or Mary Poppins and Peter Pan in the same vein— Travers greatly admired and emulated J. M. Barrie the author of the novel Peter Pan which bears many structural resemblances to the Mary Poppins series. Indeed, Travers’ first publisher was  Peter Llewelyn Davies,Barrie’s adopted son and widely regarded as the model for Peter Pan.

Celebrate the birthday of P.L Travers, author of Mary Poppins, and listen to the song “A Spoonful of Sugar “helps the medicine go down.