Children's literature focuses on children's experiences, fantasy and imagination. The motif of the family often appears within children's literature, and in this work the motif of mother and stepmother is observed. While the mother is in most cases portrayed as a very caring person who loves her child and is willing to sacrifice for it, the stepmother's motive is presented as extremely negative, i.e. as a person who does not wish the child well and is willing to do anything to get rid of it. The aim of this paper is to compare the motives of mother and stepmother in selected texts of children's literature. This paper consists of five chapters. The introductory part of the paper presents the subject and the aim of the paper, the structure of the paper and the research methods used for it. The next chapter defines the notion of children's literature, explains the characteristics of children's literature and lists the types of children's literature. The third chapter deals with common motifs within children’s literature. The fourth chapter deals with the motif of mother and stepmother in children’s literature. The character of the mother in the children's literary works is shown first, and then the character of the stepmother. The archetypes of mother and stepmother are listed. In conclusion, the most significant results of the work are stated.