You Never Did Learn to Knock: 14 Stories about Girls and Their Mothers

This diverse collection of fourteen original contemporary stories captures many different aspects of the special relationship between mother and daughter. From happy discoveries to tragic loss and rebellion to resolution, this collection brings together fourteen of today's top female writers from diverse cultures to explore a theme that is close to every woman's heart.

About the Author :
Bel Mooney made her name as a journalist, columnist, and broadcaster before writing fiction for adults and children. She is the author of a best-selling series of stories for young girls, including I Don't Want To! and So What, which were inspired by her own daughter, Kitty.

Review :
"A solid, enjoyable collection due to its breezy style and content." -School Library Journal "These are good anthologies that would be useful in creative writing classes for teens. There is something for every taste here." Children's Literature Although the majority of the stories end on a positive note, giving this a feel-good tone, the strength of the mother-daughter relationship is such that it can carry this book. VOYA The reader is subtly steered through the frustrations and triumphs of persisting with trying relationships to yield closer and more loving family ties. Even though most of the daughters are around age twelve, every female can relate. School Library Journal A solid, enjoyable collection due to its breezy style and content Children's Literature Although the majority of the stories end on a positive note, giving this a feel-good tone, the strength of the mother-daughter relationship is such that it can carry this book. VOYA The reader is subtly steered through the frustrations and triumphs of persisting with trying relationships to yield closer and more loving family ties. Even though most of the daughters are around age twelve, every female can relate. School Library Journal A solid, enjoyable collection due to its breezy style and content Children's Literature Although the majority of the stories end on a positive note, giving this a feel-good tone, the strength of the mother-daughter relationship is such that it can carry this book. VOYA The reader is subtly steered through the frustrations and triumphs of persisting with trying relationships to yield closer and more loving family ties. Even though most of the daughters are around age twelve, every female can relate. School Library Journal A solid, enjoyable collection due to its breezy style and content Publishers Weekly Several anthologies present wisdom for all. Two collections, taken together, offer a balanced view: You Never Did Learn to Knock: 14 Stories About Girls and Their Mothers, edited by Bel Mooney; and My Dad's a Punk: 12 Stories About Boys and Their Fathers, edited by Tony Bradman. Mates, Dates author Cathy Hopkins offers the bittersweet title story of the first collection: her 12-year-old heroine continues to talk with her Mum, who passed away three weeks before. Other contributors include Adele Geras and Betty Hicks. Ron Koertge's "Twenty Crows," in the second book, follows a teen narrator whose father makes seemingly empty promises, but comes through unexpectedly to give the boy hope. Tim Wynne-Jones and Terence Blacker number among the other contributors. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. Children's Literature Bel Mooney has collected fourteen stories of mothers and daughters, told primarily through the daughters' eyes. The love, closeness, incompatibility, and angst associated with the relationship between mothers and daughters is clear throughout these stories, giving every girl/young woman something to relate to. Some of the girls are suffering through their parents' divorce, some are dealing with the death of their mother, and others are trying to come to terms with the ways they are the same and/or different from their mothers. In each story the bond between mother and daughter is emphasized, and in most of them the daughters come to a realization of the important place their mothers hold in their lives. Because most of the girls are young adolescents, the stories have a kinder, gentler feel to them than they might if the girls were a littleolder. Although the majority of the stories end on a positive note, giving this a feel-good tone, the strength of the mother-daughter relationship is such that it can carry this book. Jane Van Wiemokly - VOYA Ah, mothers and daughters! What relationship can be so loving, close, nurturing, tender, and . . . provoking. These short stories cover multiple emotions as they illustrate the mother/daughter dynamic. From serious to humorous, all focus on this familial bond. Not all end happily, as seen in The Dolphin Bracelet by Caroline Pitcher, in which Jodie discovers after a wonderful family vacation that her mother's illness has returned and that it is terminal. In Jean Ure's Not Just a Pretty Face, Kira's beautiful mother injures her face in a car accident, leading the resentful Kira to see for the first time that her mother is a special person no matter how she looks. A mother's mistrust of her daughter leads her to read diary entries, not realizing that they are made up because her daughter knows of Mom's privacy violation. Making It Up ends with a dramatic conclusion which promotes understanding and compromise. While most tales take place in England, the relationships are universal. Each shows the angst and exasperations of mothers and daughters who feel that they do not understand each other. The reader is subtly steered through the frustrations and triumphs of persisting with trying relationships to yield closer and more loving family ties. Even though most of the daughters are around age twelve, every female can relate. After all, every female is someone's daughter. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P M (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined asgrades 6 to 8). 2006, Kingfisher/Houghton Mifflin, 256p., Trade pb. Ages 11 to 14. School Library Journal Gr 5-8-A collection of stories by young adult writers from both sides of the Atlantic. The characters are all from middle- or upper-middle-class homes, there is little sense of alienation, and the mothers and daughters truly love one another. All the selections are told from the daughter's perspective, and many teenagers will see parts of themselves in the characters. Situations include adoption, girls manipulating their mothers, divorce, and terminal illness. Two pieces stand out. One is the title story about a girl trying to come to terms with her mother's death and her appearance as a ghost by the rather creative use of a cell phone. The other story concerns two cousins who dislike one another even though they have never met because they are constantly being compared by their respective mothers. When the girls do get together, their candor helps them quickly figure out what's been going on. A solid, enjoyable collection due to its breezy style and content.-Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.