Mothers hold a special place in the literary canon. (What's a fairy tale without an evil stepmother, after all?) Think of the memorable literary moms from children's lit you know -- from Mrs. Weasley (a favorite, of course!) to Mrs. Coulter (yikes), they're often crucial components to a plot, and usually hold some kind of insight into the main character's motivation.
I asked around for some favorite literary mamas. Here's what we came up with:
Megan: The mother rabbit in The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown. All throughout the book, the baby bunny threatens to run away, and tells his mother where he’ll go. And she always counters with “if you run away, I’ll run after you, for you are my little bunny.” It’s the sweetest. (My mom calls my sister and I bunny so maybe that’s why I love it so much!)
Gina: Mrs. Frisby, of course! (Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien) When her husband is killed, she does everything she can to move her family’s home out of the path of the farmer’s plow, and save her ill son’s life. To do this, she faces a number of fears and challenges (her fear of heights, owls, and Dragon the cat) to enlist the help of the hyper-intelligent rats from NIMH. One of the strongest, bravest mamas out there!
Alex: Auntie Em from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz! While not technically a mother, she serves as Dorothy's mom-figure.
No matter which literary moms pique your interest, I hope you have a happy Mother's Day this weekend -- filled with good books!
