Mothers in Literature - Exodus Books

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Mothers are pretty important. Aside from the biological function of propagating the human race, they comfort us, nurture us, and occupy a vital psychological role in our development. Or not—a lot of mothers are absent, especially in literature. Jem and Scout Finch are motherless, the Lost Boys are orphans (until Wendy comes along), and Heidi has no woman's gentling influence. But this absence doesn't mean mothers are unimportant; for these characters, the lack of a mother becomes a central concern.

Bad mothers are just as influential, and some of literature's most famous mothers are very bad. Cinderella's stepmother, the loquacious Mrs. Bennett, Grendel's dam, Coraline's "other mother"—it's a long list, and not very encouraging. The torments of wicked women are hard to forget, which may be the reason these characters are so prominent and often seem to outnumber the good mothers in well-known books.

But there are plenty of good mothers, too, though they often seem to hide behind their children, or to be so good as to be entirely unbelievable (Marmee from Little Women comes immediately to mind). The best mothers in literature are the most realistic, routinely sacrificing themselves for their children, their husbands and their ideals, but still human and fallible. These mothers are our favorites.

Women like Caroline Ingalls, whose hard work, high morals and good humor helped a pioneer family through the most harrowing conditions. Or Maria Trapp, whose submission to God meant submission to her husband and rebellion against a godless government. Or Mama from All-of-a-Kind Family, whose quiet diligence and gentle wisdom led five lovable little girls into maturity. Or Little Bear's mother, who never forgets his birthday. Or Frances the Badger's mother, who knows what Frances needs and what she wants. Or Ora Baxter, Maria Franzon, Marta Hanson, Sarah Wheaton, Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit, etc., etc., etc.

Mother's Day is this month and we thought it would be fun to celebrate mothers by finding some of the best ones in literature. It turned out to be harder than expected at first, until we started scanning shelves and realized there really are a lot of good moms in books. Maybe all those Google lists about "the worst mothers in fiction" impeded our (usually excellent) collective memory. Or maybe it's just more fun to remember the villains.

But it's no fun to have a villain for a mom in real life. None of us at Exodus have villainous mothers, and we are grateful. No one has a perfect mom, either—what would we do with one of those? It would be impossible to live up to her standards. Or maybe the definition of a perfect mom is one that understands her children's fallibility and does everything in her power to help them grow into self-controlled, capable and effective adults. If that's the case, we definitely do have perfect moms.

Hopefully books like the ones we're featuring will promote the celebration of mothers and motherhood long after the (rather arbitrary) May date specifically set aside in their honor. Not that such holidays are in any way a bad thing—we just want to be sure we don't forget about Mom as soon as the meal is cleared (a meal which, if cooked by Dad and the kiddos, is even more evidence of her necessity). But by all means, be especially good to mom on Mother's Day; and for all you moms reading this, your family will be blessed if you let them do for you one day what you do for them all the rest.

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72 Items found Print

	All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John from Yearling Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Angel in the Waters by Regina Doman; illustrated by Ben Hatke from Sophia Institute Press Realistic Fiction for Preschool-Kindergarten in Pregnancy & Infant Care (Location: PRE-INF) $8.46
	Anne of Green Gables Anne #1 by L. M. Montgomery from Bantam Books Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Anne of Green Gables Illustrated Junior Library Series 3 by L. M. Montgomery, illustrated by Jody Lee from Grosset & Dunlap Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Anne of Green Gables Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by L. M. Montgomery, illustrated by Mick Ellison from Reader's Digest Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Anne of Green Gables Sterling Classics by L. M. Montgomery, illustrated by Scott McKowen Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co. Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Anne of Green Gables Anne #1 by L. M. Montgomery Reprint from Puffin Books Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Anne of Green Gables Anne #1 by L. M. Montgomery from Grosset & Dunlap Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Anne of Green Gables Illustrated Junior Library Series 4 by L. M. Montgomery, illustrated by Jody Lee from Grosset & Dunlap Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, illustrated by Sybil Tawse from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $20.00
	Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack from Aladdin Paperbacks for Kindergarten-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Baby Sister for Frances by Russell & Lillian Hoban from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Baby Sister for Frances by Russell & Lillian Hoban from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $5.99
	Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Garth Williams from Scholastic Inc. Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $16.99
	Belles On Their Toes by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey from HarperCollins Family Stories for 4th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $15.99
	Birthday for Frances by Russell & Lillian Hoban from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Birthday for Frances by Russell & Lillian Hoban from Scholastic Inc. Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $2.00 (1 in stock)
	Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell & Lillian Hoban from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Bread and Jam for Frances I Can Read! Level 2 by Russell & Lillian Hoban from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR) $5.99
	Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams from HarperCollins Family Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1983 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
	Cheaper By the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey from HarperCollins Family Stories for 4th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $16.99
	Cheaper By the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, notes by Frederick Houk Law 2nd School Edition from Globe Book Company Family Stories for 4th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Cheaper By the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey from HarperCollins Family Stories for 4th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.00 (10 in stock)
	Friend by Sarah Stewart First Edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for Preschool-2nd grade (Ages 4-8) in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter from Indiana University Press Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Girl of the Limberlost Dover Evergreen Classics by Gene Stratton-Porter from Dover Publications Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $12.99
	Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia Reprint from Amistad Press for 4th-7th grade Coretta Scott King Award in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99
	Little House - Hardcover Set by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins for 3rd-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $143.11
	Little House - Softcover Boxed Set by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $79.91
	Little Mommy by Sharon Kane from Golden Books in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD) $5.99
	Little Women Puffin Classics by Louisa May Alcott from Puffin Books Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $10.99
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Judith Cheng Special from Simon and Schuster Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Clara M. Burd from John C. Winston Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Little Women Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Hodges Soileau and Louis Jambor from Reader's Digest Realistic Romantic Fiction for 6th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Barbara Cooney from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Tasha Tudor Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Clara M. Burd from Abbeville Press Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $35.00
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrator unknown Undated from M. A. Donohue & Company Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Louisa May Alcott Little Women / Good Wives / Little Men by Louisa May Alcott from Octopus Books Limited Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Love You Forever by Robert Munsch from Firefly Books for Preschool-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $5.95 $4.00 (3 in stock)
	Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey from Puffin Books Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1942 Caldecott Medal winner in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $10.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey from Viking Press Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1942 Caldecott Medal winner in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $19.99 $11.00 (1 in stock)
	Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey 1966 printing from Viking Press Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1942 Caldecott Medal winner in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
	Mama's Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes from Harcourt Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $15.99 $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Mama's Way by Thyra Ferre Bjorn 8^th edition from Bantam Books for 7th-10th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Mama's Way by Thyra Ferre Bjorn from Rinehart & Company, Inc. for 7th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds from PaperStar Books Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade 1942 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien; illustrated by Zena Bernstein from Aladdin Paperbacks Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade 1972 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien, illustrated by Edward S. Gazi from Atheneum Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade 1972 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien, illustrated by Zena Bernstein from Atheneum Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade 1972 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	My Mother is Mine by Marion Dane Bauer from Simon and Schuster for Nursery-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
	New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert from Random House Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Old Yeller by Fred Gipson from HarperCollins Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade 1957 Newbery Honor Book in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $9.99
	Old Yeller by Fred Gipson from Scholastic Inc. Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade 1957 Newbery Honor Book in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia Reprint from Amistad Press for 4th-7th grade 2011 Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia Reprint from Amistad Press for 4th-7th grade Coretta Scott King Award in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99
	Papa's Wife by Thyra Ferre Bjorn from Rinehart & Company, Inc. for 7th-Adult in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary from HarperCollins for 3rd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.39 $2.40 (1 in stock)
	Runaway Bunny by Margaret Brown & Clement Hurd from HarperCollins for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Runaway Bunny by Margaret Brown & Clement Hurd from HarperFestival for Preschool-2nd grade in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD) $10.99
	Runaway Bunny by Margaret Brown & Clement Hurd from HarperCollins for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan 30th Anniversary from HarperCollins Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade 1986 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp from HarperCollins Biography for 7th-10th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $18.99
	Tale of Tom Kitten Book 8 by Beatrix Potter from Frederick Warne & Company for Nursery-1st grade in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Treasures of the Snow (adapted) by Patricia St. John, adapted by Mary Mills 2^nd edition from Moody Press Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99
	Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher from University Press of New England Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Understood Betsy (abridged) by Dorothy Canfield Fisher from Bob Jones University Press Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.99
	Wrinkle in Time Wrinkle in Time Series #1 by Madeleine L'Engle from Square Fish Publishing Fantasy for 4th-9th grade 1963 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Wrinkle in Time Wrinkle in Time Series #1 by Madeleine L'Engle from Square Fish Publishing Fantasy for 4th-9th grade 1963 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Wrinkle in Time Wrinkle in Time Series #1 by Madeleine L'Engle from Quality Paperback Book Club Fantasy for 4th-9th grade 1963 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)

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