Blog Post
Mother's Day Quiz: Which children's book moms can you name?
Tracey at Rhyme and Reason Books • May 9, 2020
Saluting the most elusive character in children's literature - the mother
From Peter Pan to Curious George to Nancy Drew, some of the most beloved characters in children’s literature are notably motherless. So for Mother’s Day, let’s salute that most elusive of all fictional characters — the children’s book mom — with this quiz.
How many literary mothers do you recognize? The answers are at the bottom. Check your score and add a clue about your own favorite book mom in the comments to see if you can stump the rest of us. Then share with your favorite real-life mothers.
Happy Mother’s Day!
1. Which mom is upset when her son loses his new blue jacket in the forbidden vegetable garden — but still makes him camomile tea before bed because he feels ill after his misadventure?
2. Who is called Marmee by her four daughters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy?
3. Which mom longs for her son daily after he goes missing after being turned into a rock — then has a picnic on him?
4. Who offers to help pack when daughter decides to run away? (Hint: this is the same daughter who at various times pulls her classmate’s ringlets, tries to make her father quit smoking, and wears her pajamas to school under her clothes.
5. Whose mother sagely waits out the whims of her picky little eater by giving her bread and jam at every meal until she’s finally bored enough with her less-than-nutritious favorite to try this scrumptious lunch: “A thermos bottle with cream of tomato soup, and a lobster-salad sandwich on thin slices of white bread … celery, carrot sticks, and black olives, and a little cardboard shaker of salt for the celery. And two plums, and a tiny basket of cherries. And vanilla pudding with chocolate sprinkles and a spoon to eat it with.”
6. Whose mother gives him such a long and prestigious name that it almost prevents him from being saved when he falls into a well?
7. Whose mother sets out to spend the day picking fruit with her daughter only to mix her up with a baby bear who’s picking fruit with his mother?
8. Whose mother wisely tells him, “Some days are like that. Even in Australia.”
Scroll down a few lines to find the answers then leave a clue in the comments section for the rest of us to solve. Share with your favorite real-life moms so they can play along!
Answers:
1. Mrs. Rabbit (The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter)
2. Mrs. March (Little Women, Louisa May Alcott)
3. Mrs. Duncan (Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, William Steig)
4. Dorothy Quimby (Ramona series, Beverly Cleary)
5. Frances’ mother (Bread and Jam for Frances, Russell Hoban)
6. Tikki tikki tembo-no sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo’s mother (Tikki Tikki Tembo, retold by Arlene Mosel)
7. Sal’s mother (Blueberries for Sal, Robert McCloskey)
8. Alexander’s mother (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Judith Viorst)
About the author: Tracey fell in love with old children's books when she was nine, and that was that. Her shop, Rhyme and Reason Books, sells vintage children's books and ephemera on Etsy for collectors, crafters, and decorators. As a writer, literacy instructor, and library volunteer, she donates a portion of every sale to children's literacy initiatives to foster the next generation of readers.
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