Molly Lou Melon

I started collecting children's books long before I had Aubrey. I came across this book when I was working in a crisis nursery while I was in college and fell in love with it immediately. We were actually this close to naming Aubrey Molly because of this book. It's the story of a little girl named Molly Lou Melon. Molly is a little different than most kids. She is the shortest girl in her grade, she has big buck teeth, her voice sounds like a bull frog, and she is quite clumsy. But Molly's grandmother teaches her to accept her differences and shows her how to appreciate them. When Molly moves to a new town she encounters a bully named Ronald Durkin who is intent on pointing out all of her differences. In the end Molly proves that her differences make her special and lovable and Ronald becomes her friend.

I started reading this book to Aubrey when she was still a little fetus in my tummy. I would sit in my rocking chair with my feet propped up and the book resting on my enormous belly, and I would read it over and over again while she kicked and wiggled. It grew to be her favorite after she was born as well. We read it so often that if we were in the car and she was upset I would recite the entire book from memory and she would quiet down and listen.

Sadly, when Aubrey got into her ripping phase Molly Lou Melon was trashed. It finally got to the point that tape couldn't even hold it together anymore, so I threw it out with the intention of buying it again when she was done ripping everything in site. But like many things it was put on the back burner, and I still haven't gotten a replacement. It has been at least 6 months since we've read the book...maybe longer.

A few days ago while we were at the library I saw the book in the children's section and immediately checked it out. That night I read it to Aubrey at bed time, and she sat perfectly still and listened. She didn't wiggle, she didn't try to grab the book away from me, she just sat there and listened. She never sits like that for stories anymore! When we were done she started crying a little so I read it to her again...and it was the same thing. She was enthralled. She has been carrying the book around with her for 2 days. All she does is sit and flip through the pages, looking at the pictures. This morning she was downstairs while I was upstairs getting dressed, and she actually crawled all the way upstairs while holding the book, then walked on her knees to my bedroom while holding the book. Then she grabbed my leg and stood up, and handed me the book to read to her.

I find it so amazing the even with all of Aubrey's challenges, she can still be so affected by a book that after 6+ months she still remembers it. It obviously means something to her and has affected her. She is so attached to it. Is it because she has heard the story since before she was born? Is it because she knows it is special to me? Does she associate the book with special mommy time? Does she feel the message behind the story? I hope she does.

It may sound silly, but I feel so blessed by this book. Who knew 5 years ago when I bought it, that someday we would have Aubrey and that she would be different from other kids? Who knew that she and I would both have to learn to embrace those differences, and see them as a gift...and who knew we would learn so much from a little girl named Molly Lou Melon?