A Mother-Daughter Tale

Almost every night since she was tiny, I have read aloud to Ni before she goes to sleep. If we have time, it will be a graduating series of books (from picture books to non-fiction to novel) designed to help her with the ever-challenging task of winding down each evening. There have been periods where, by necessity, this has been a lengthy process. Lately we have been staying up later than we should, enjoying our respective passions in the quiet of the post-toddler evening. As Ni is better equipped to calm herself now that she is older, we often truncate our reading to just the essential, shared novel. 

For a few years now, we've enjoyed reading a series of books or an author's catalogue. There's been Harry Potter (of course), Carole Wilkinson's Dragonkeeper series, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, the long and much adored Neil Gaiman's children's books and Laura Ingalls Wilder's wonderful Little House books. While I was pregnant with Wawa, we read Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. The protagonist of those books is a rather beautifully rendered, spirited, courageous, loyal and strong young girl. She might even be able to give you a hint as to Wawa's real name if you ever find yourself curious.


For some time now, we've been reading L.M. Montgomery's books, starting with the lovely Anne of Green Gables. She has taken us on a journey through Anne's enchanted girlhood right through to her life as a wife and middle-aged mother. These have been wonderful books for a mother and daughter to share. It's as if Anne begins as Ni's protagonist and becomes mine. Then we come full circle as the books begin to focus on the adventures of her children.

We have one more to read in the Anne series, Rilla of Ingleside, which apparently focuses on Anne's youngest child. I joke that if we continue, we'll find ourselves reading Anne of the Retirement Village. While waiting for the last book to arrive, we moved on to Montgomery's Pat of Silver Bush. What a lovely surprise it proved to be. Pat is as loveable as our dear Anne and is, without doubt, "a kindred spirit". Every time Wawa demands milk, Ni joyfully joins us on the couch to sneak in a little extra reading time. Much to my annoyance, I have also caught her trying to convince Wawa to ask for milk while I am busy doing other things. It has been a while since we felt so engaged with a book. I have particularly happy memories of half days spent in bed reading Harry Potter and an urgent dash to the shops for the next book in the series.


I am noticing only now how many of those books we have read most recently feature ordinarily extraordinary girls coming of age. It's as if we are being drawn to the tales we will soon need to gently set us down ready for the next slightly thrilling chapter in our mother-daughter tale.