Mo’s Best Friend
Publisher: Otter-Barry Books
Mo is a girl from the Stone Age who lives in a cave in the side of a hill. While her Ma, Pa, Grumma, and Gruppa all keep themselves busy, poor Mo has nobody to play with. Her only task is to make sure that Babba doesn’t crawl anywhere dangerous.
One day, she encounters a “wild beast” in a bush. On closer investigation, she realises it is a friendly, four-legged creature and one who very much wants to play! Her family are suspicious of it at first, but when it saves Babba from a lynx, they accept it into their community and Mo decides to name it... “Dog!”
Inspired by 26,000-year-old markings made by a child and a dog in France, this book is both an engaging story and an important history lesson about Stone Age life and the domestication of dogs – two topics which are hugely popular, the former featuring in most school’s curriculums. More detailed informative pages on these topics feature at the back of the book.
Marzo’s illustrations are bright and full of character, with well-researched representations of Stone Age technology. Mo and her new friend are an engaging pair and children will laugh at the antics of the adventurous Babba!