Today, I wanted to post about books featuring solid mother-daughter relationships. Since I had no problem finding books about great dads on Father’s Day, I figured this would be easy.

As it turns out, I couldn’t think of any books about good moms (except, of course, Little Women). When I scanned my book list, the moms were dead, absent, mean, or meaningless. 

What’s the deal? Maybe it’s easier to leave moms out of storytelling. Or maybe society still has lower expectations for fathers and is harder on mothers. Maybe I mostly read books written by women and mother-daughter relationships are notoriously difficult.

Whatever the reason, today’s list is of books featuring bad moms.

• Deenie by Judy Blume - The mom in this novel refers to one daughter as The Brain and the other as The Beauty. Enough said.
• We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver - Nature vs. nurture. Are bad kids born that way or do bad mothers make them that way?
• Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky - This one is more about a bad nanny, but the mom sucks too. This book is also a fun and fast read. It’s basically beach season, people. 
• Lit by Mary Karr - She’s a great writer and a hilarious human, but I think she’d be the first to admit that her mothering style wasn’t always the best.

“I love getting on the wrong train and exploring this new city of mine. I love swinging around on these poles like a stripper - no, like an acrobat.”

“Learning about this city is eye-opening. Do you know what Wall Street is built on? It’s built on the graves of slaves. The graves of black American slaves. So if you have anything to do with Wall Street, you’re mocking the slaves.”

“Do you know what limbo really is? It’s that kind of watery space in the womb where you just hang out. But it’s also a game to see how low you can go.”

“Bob Marley was just grateful to have a few lovers. That’s how beautiful making love was to him. He didn’t expect to die so soon.”

Note: I live on the 3rd floor of a three-level house. My landlord and his family live on the bottom two floors. 

I saw ants in the backyard. I’ll have to put poison down, I don’t know. Are you and your roommate leaving food out in the kitchen? 

When you’re done taking Flat Stanley around town, you have to send him back to the student with pictures and a letter that explains Stanley’s adventures.

Here’s the letter we wrote:

Dear Aiden,

In the early morning, Flat Stanley arrived in New York City and right away he went to play basketball. At the basketball court, Stanley made many friends and they were all hungry. They went to the world famous Grimaldi’s Pizzeria and the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory to eat pizza and ice cream. After that, they went to the water to see the Statue of Liberty. Then Stanley and his new pals took a taxi cab over the Brooklyn Bridge to celebrate his favorite holiday, St. Patrick’s Day.

Uh-oh! When the taxi got to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the streets were filled with hamburgers, meat and mushrooms. Stanley’s worst nightmare! What was Stanley going to do now? “Don’t worry about it, Stanley,” said his new pals, “We’ll take you to the most fun places in New York City. And guess what? Tonight we’re going to Madison Square Garden to see the New York Knicks, and we have an extra ticket just for you!”

It was still early, so Stanley’s friends had time to take him to a bunch of cool places. First, they went to Grand Central Station so they could take a train. Grand Central was big and Stanley liked the blue ceiling. Next, they went to Central Park to relax. Stanley took a nap in the grass. When he woke up, his friends took him to the Empire State Building, one of the tallest buildings in the world.

They went all the way to the top of the Empire State Building. 102 FLOORS HIGH! When Stanley looked over the edge of the building, he saw Spider-Man swinging from skyscraper to skyscraper in Times Square. “You guys, let’s find Spider-Man in Times Square. Whaddya say?!!” Stanley shouted.

They made it to Times Square just as Spider-Man was getting his picture taken after catching a bad guy. They made friends with Spider-Man and they all walked around Times Square together. It was almost time for the basketball game, so Stanley went to the Trump Tower to get money for pudding and other snacks.

The game was so much fun! Stanley met one of his favorite NBA players and got his autograph. After the long day, Stanley was super sleepy. But his adventure wasn’t over yet. Stanley’s friends took him to a giant sleepover party at the Museum of Natural History. Stanley saw huge dinosaurs and slept in a planetarium, a big room full of stars and planets.

“Thanks, guys. This was the best St. Patrick’s Day ever,” Stanley said to his new friends before he fell asleep.

Flat Stanley had a great time in New York City. Let me know if you have questions about his adventure!

Love,

Uncle Jason