Actress Julie Andrews shares about family, career and new book

Generations keep discovering the supercalifragilistic charm of actress Julie Andrews.

With roles in “The Sound of Music” and the Disney classic “Mary Poppins,” Andrews has become a surrogate mom to countless kiddies. And she continues to appeal to the younger set by writing children’s books, which she often co-authors with daughter Emma Walton Hamilton.

Andrews will be meeting fans of all ages when she stops in Atlanta this week to sign copies of her new book “The Very Fairy Princess.”

Q: Writing children’s books is nothing new for you. You first published stories in the ’70s.

A: I began and almost fell into it by accident by writing a story for one of my daughters as almost a small forfeit for a game that I lost. And she suggested I write her a story. But I’ve been loving it ever since, and I’ve always hoped I’d be allowed to write. My daughter Emma and I now run a small publishing collection called The Julie Andrews Collection. We’ve been going strong for about 11 years now.

Q: What’s the dynamic like collaborating with your daughter Emma?

A: When we first began, since we’re both rather bossy ladies, we weren’t sure if we’d be compatible. But in fact, our strengths are very different and we love working together. It is a total joy. We both have a great passion for literacy, and we’re both advocates for reading to children. We have different strengths when we write, and they both sort of complement each other. And I love it, of course, as a mom.

Q: In your latest book “The Very Fairy Princess,” the little girl Geraldine imagines she’s a fairy princess. Was this inspired by experiences you’ve had with your children and grandchildren?

A: In the back of the book you’ll see it’s dedicated to Hope, the original very fairy princess. This is Emma’s daughter who’s pretty much the spitting likeness of little Geraldine in terms of her character. She’s strong and knows who she is. And the book really celebrates individuality and that inner sparkle that if you bring it out can do such wonders.

Q: You’ve said you believe reading is more important than ever for children in this day and age.

A: God knows it’s been proven over and over again that if you read to children at an early age, even when they’re preverbal, they will learn to read much faster, they’ll do better in school, they’ll become more responsible citizens, they’ll become more liable to vote; all sorts of interesting statistics have been proven if you encourage children to read. And there’s such bonding and such a delight in the doing of it. I know it’s a difficult time and parents are busier than ever, and sometimes both parents are working. But just to find that moment when the child can curl up in your lap and read together is delightful.

Q: Do you think parents may trust you more as an author given the iconic kid-friendly roles you played in movies like “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music”?

A: I guess it couldn’t hurt. I hope it doesn’t harm. I’m sometimes called a celebrity author, which annoys the heck out of me, because I’ve been doing it now for about 40 years. I may have been the original celebrity author. [Laughs.] But whatever it is, parents trust us. We’re having a wonderful experience with this book. It landed on shelves about five weeks ago, and it literally leapt to the bestseller list completely by itself and has stayed there. And I think it’s because parents are beginning to trust the product we put out there.

Q: Have you ever had fans who take those roles seriously, who actually think you’re Mary Poppins or Maria from “The Sound of Music”?

A: Yeah, a lot of children do and did. Sometimes you have to say, ‘I’m an actress and it was a role I played'. ... But it’s so flattering and so dear, and I’m so blessed that I was the lucky woman who was asked to play those roles.

Q: As far as acting goes, you’re on an animation roll this summer with “Shrek Forever After” and now “Despicable Me.” What do you enjoy most about voice-over work?

A: Many things. You don’t meet any of your fellow actors. You record in the sound booth very much by yourself with the help of your director guiding you. You read your lines, and you offer them every variation of those lines that they might want. The nice thing is there’s no hair and make-up first thing in the morning, and you don’t have to show up terribly early. But also there’s a great deal of experimentation and you can contribute. They welcome any input that you might have about your role.