Mothers and daughters got the chance to connect through literature at i?¿1?2Just Us Girls,i?¿1?2 a mother-daughter book club at Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth that held its first meeting this month.

The group discussed i?¿1?2The Ordinary Princess,i?¿1?2 a fairy tale by M.M. Kaye about a princess loses her beautiful looks and gets used to life as an plain-looking woman, in an upper-class setting around the turn of the 20th century.

Rachael Flaxman attended Just Us Girls with her 8-year-old daughter, Eva, and said it gave them a good starting point to talk about social issues, like the stereotypical roles of men and women in society. She said i?¿1?2The Ordinary Princessi?¿1?2 gave her daughter and the other children a good role model, because it was about a girl who didni?¿1?2t i?¿1?2fit the moldi?¿1?2 in her time and knew it was OK to be different.

Trish Brigham, a School Board member, said she and her 10-year-old daughter, Tori, learned i?¿1?2a little more about each otheri?¿1?2 through the discussions. Brigham said they talked about the expectations parents sometimes place on their kids, and enjoyed discussing the story with other people in the group.

Childreni?¿1?2s Librarian Rachel Davis said she had heard of other Maine libraries organizing similar activities, and wanted to start one in Cape. The funds for the program came from a $450 donation by Jean and Steve LaVallee, after the Cape couple raised the money at i?¿1?2Wifflepalooza,i?¿1?2 a local wiffleball tournament they organized last summer.

The new group, which meets once a month, is limited to 12 mother-daughter pairs per session. But Davis keeps a waiting list if more pairs sign up for any one session. She can be reached at the Thomas Memorial Library at 767-5974. The library gives out the books to be read prior to each group meeting.

The next session for Just Us Girls will be on Thursday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. At that meeting, mothers and daughters will discuss i?¿1?2Riding Freedomi?¿1?2 by Pam Mui?¿1?2oz Ryan. The story details the true story of Charlotte Parkhurst, a girl who disguised herself as a man and became a renowned stagecoach rider in Americai?¿1?2s Gold Rush era.