The Best (Fictional) Mom in the World

Hey, MUF peeps! Mother’s Day is just around the corner (yay for moms!). We all know that being a mom isn’t always an easy job (even more so in literature, where the moms are often clueless, absent, or well, lucky to be alive at all…).

So! In honor of all the awesome moms out there, I’d like to celebrate some of my favorite mothers in middle-grade fiction. Without further ado, here they are!

Caroline Ingalls: What can I say, when I was a kid I really, really wanted to be Laura Ingalls and live in a little house on the prairie with Ma and Pa. I even had the bonnet. See?

The author at age six, in her bonnet, waiting to move to the prairie.

Mrs. Quimby, Ramona’s mom: Another favorite from my childhood, not that I was a pest or anything. Just ask my brother, he’ll tell you… um, I mean, nevermind. Ahem. Anyway, Ramona’s mom was great, because she seemed like a real mom (and I kinda loved that she let Ramona be Ramona–quirks and all).

Gigi’s mom in The Truth About Twinkie Pie: No spoilers, but I loved this charming story about motherly love that is part mystery and part coming-of-age — with recipes, too boot!

But my all-time favorite fictional mom is, hands down: Molly Weasley of Harry Potter. Maybe it’s just that we have so much in common — I mean, MY kids are redheads! And of course, I can cast spells and create a patronus and… okay, well, we do have the redhead thing in common. But I guess Mrs. Weasley just speaks to the mom in me — she loves, encourages and protects her kids, she’s kindhearted but tough (and more than willing to send a Howler when her son does something he shouldn’t…)

Then, of course, there’s this, which is quite possibly the best mom moment in all of book/movie history:

Yeah, don’t go messing with Mama Bear and her cubs…

So tell me, who is YOUR favorite fictional mom! Let me know in the comments below. And Happy Mother’s Day to all of our Mixed-Up Files mommas–enjoy your day. You’ve earned it!

Jan Gangsei is the author of ZERO DAY (Disney-Hyperion, 2016), and several middle-grade series for Working Partners Ltd. She’s the mom of two awesome redheads (who are both probably relieved Howlers are not an actual thing…). Say hi to her at www.jangangsei.com.

Jan Gangsei