Mary Shepard Mary Shepard Mary Eleanor Jessie Knox née Shepard (25 December 1909 – 4 September 2000) was an English illustrator of children's books. She is best known for the "Mary Poppins" stories written by P. L. Travers (1934 to 1988): "Mary Shepard: Putting Mary Poppins in the picture", "The Times" of London titled an obituary article. She used her married name Mary Knox outside the publishing industry. She was the daughter of E. H. Shepard, a famous illustrator of children's literature including "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A. A. Milne in the 1920s and a 1931 edition of "The Wind in the Willows" by
Mary Poppins (musical) of paper and throws it in the fireplace. Within moments, Mary Poppins arrives, restored advertisement in hand, and takes charge of the Banks children, having every confidence in her own qualifications and merits ("Practically Perfect"). On the children's first outing to the park, they meet Bert and, despite their reservations, Mary teaches them that they must learn to look past appearances. To illustrate the point, Mary brings the park statues, including a mythological figure named Neleus, to life ("Jolly Holiday"). While Mary manages the children, other problems lie with their parents. Winifred is aware that she is somehow disappointing both