Mo's Best Friend

Set in the Stone Age, this delightful story of young Mo and her family was inspired by the discovery of two footprints by archaeologists working in the Chauvet cave in France around thirty years ago; one footprint was of a dog, the other of a child.

Mo’s main task is to keep a watchful eye on baby Babba, a fast crawler who is not aware of danger.

Liking to have time to herself sometimes, Mo takes the opportunity to go and sit in her favourite spot up on the hill, eat her food and listen to the sounds around. While so doing one day she hears a strange ‘Yip!’ coming from a bush and ignoring what she’s been told about the dangers of wild beasts, she goes to investigate. She discovers a small animal that is clearly in trouble and looking more closely Mo finds a thorn n its paw. She takes it out and soon the creature wants to play; it becomes the girl’s friend, playing with her all afternoon. Mo decides to introduce her new friend to rest of her family but they’re horrified by the strange animal and scare it away. Almost immediately they realise baby Babba has disappeared. They start to search, Mo leading the way and she soon spies a pawprint: they then hear a ‘WOOF! WOOF!’ but it’s not what they think. It’s Mo’s new friend and he’s defending the infant from a hungry lynx. Now it’s not only Mo who has a new friend; the little animal becomes part of the family and you can guess what they decide to call him …

Gouache scenes show the action as it unfolds: I love the intimate sequence of Mo’s first encounter with the little wild beast and their subsequent animated frolicsome play of fetch and return of Mo’s stick. Bridget Marzo uses natural and earth colours for her illustrations with ochre predominating, adding authenticity to her portrayal of the story.