Monica and Parsley very similar to Perrine and Palikare from En Famille

There's a novel by Hector Malot called "En Famille" or "Nobody's Girl" (Official English title) which has some similarities with the characters Monica, Parsley, and Monica's mother.

In the beginning of "En Famille" a young girl, Perrine and her mother are traveling in a wagon led by their donkey Palikare. They are photographers, and Perrine's mother is ill and so Perrine has to do the photography herself.

Doesn't that sound an awful lot like Monica? I dunno if it's a coincidence or what but I found it strange.