It's a common enough trend: parents mysteriously missing in middle-grade and young adults. (Our own Matthew MacNish posted about this phenomenon right here on PM.) And it makes sense: without parental figures around to fix problems, keep our protags from risking their necks or offer advice, our central characters wouldn't have their own discoveries to make or solutions to find or adventures to go on.
But that isn't to say the parents are in no way useful to the development of character, story and theme in children's books. So how can they contribute? A few suggestions:
1. The parent brings an "adult" problem into the storyline for the protagonist. This problem should add to the protagonist's load and provide opportunity to show growth. For example, in Vikki VanSickle's Words That Start With B, Clarissa's mother is diagnosed with an illness that Clarissa struggles to deal with along with troubles at school and with her friends. This helps to develop Clarissa as a character, as well as her mother.
2. The parent and the protagonist have a dynamic relationship that contributes to both their development. In Carl Hiaasen's Chomp, for example, Wahoo knows how aggressive his father can be; he both admires him and wishes that he were a little more restrained. This push and pull makes for equally hilarious and touching scenes.
3. The adult restrains the protagonist in some way. This isn't to say that the protagonist must resent the parent figure, only that our main character encounters some form of restriction in the parent. Take Kathleen O'Dell's The Aviary, a historical fantasy-mystery; our main character Clara loves her mother, but she comes to realize that her mother is literally restricting her -- she won't let Clara out of the house for fear of her health. Over time, Clara decides that she's able to make her own decisions regarding her health, displaying growth we can get behind as readers.
The important thing to remember is that parents are characters too, and usually the way they interact with their child, the protagonist, will determine how they contribute to the story. Besides, nobody ever said that you couldn't write awesome parents, right?
What are your favourite middle-grade books with parents?
--Yahong
I don't know if this counts, because the parents are, technically, MISSING ...
ReplyDeleteBut I love Save Queen of Sheba by Louise Moeri. I use it every year with my high reading group. The protag and his little sister are stranded in the desolate prairie after becoming separated from their parents during a Sioux raid on their wagon train. They don't know if their parents are alive or not, but they keep following the tracks of the wagons that got away.
The protag thinks constantly of his father. Everything his father taught him, every expectation his father has for him keeps him putting one foot in front of the other. The father is a BIG character in the book, even though he isn't seen until the very last page.
You promised a goodie--and you delivered.
ReplyDeleteI really like the parents in both WONDER and OUT OF MY MIND (both of which I recently read, both of which deal with kids with physical limitations/disfigurements.) In both cases, the children see the tension between the parents' support of them, and the parents' fierce urge to protect. In some ways, the latter can be felt as a restraint--but it is beautifully portrayed and really struck a parenting chord with me.
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman--yeah, it's a YA book, but the parent role in the book is both major and memorable.
ReplyDeleteBefore I read this whole thing - went back and read the comments on that old post I wrote. That was such an awesome thread/discussion/riff. Good times.
ReplyDeleteOkay. Done reading. Awesome post, Yahong! So, I haven't as much MG as some of you, and I don't want to give too much away, but Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities did something very interesting with parental figures, and I thought it was fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Michael; WONDER had a fantastic cast of characters including realistic, loving parents for the main character.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Yahong!
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I always loved the orphaned protagonist books, because of the freedom/strength it brought to the characters. But as a parent I now really appreciate stories where the parents have a strong presence.
I liked the family dynamics in Sarah Dooley's Body of Water. I also loved the family/sibling relationships in Beverly Cleary's Ramona books. And, of course, the Weasley family in HP.
One such MG book that features parents is a book I've mentioned quite a bit, FREAK THE MIGHTY. Kevin's mother is a great, and encouraging character, and the opposite is Max's father, who is a villain. Max's grandparents are great, fully-realized characters as well.
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