Mo and Crow by Jo Kasch illustrated by Jonathan Bentley

Curmudgeonly Mo lives alone in a tiny wooden shack behind a huge stone wall. 

The wall "was stronger than wind. It was stronger than rain. It kept everything out he wanted kept out."

BUT of course we need a complication. Mo hears someone tapping on his wall. It is a huge black crow and he is trying to demolish Mo's wall. Mo is furious. He yells at the crow. He even throws a rock at the crow but the crow does not fly away. Mo retreats inside his home. When he steps outside, some time later, the crow is gone. Mo begins to rebuild his wall but as he steps up to the gap he finally sees the world outside his wall. He thinks about the crow. Mo calls out and crow returns. Perhaps Mo doesn't need his wall any more. 

Now "Mo lives with Crow and they like it this way."

The slightly absurdist plot of this book makes this story funny but there is also a deeper theme. Young readers are sure to wonder why the crow doesn’t just fly over the wall if he/she simply wants to make friends with Mo but perhaps Crow has a different motivation. Is the wall symbolic? Is Mo really happy living alone in his closed environment? Do hermits need company? The open ending where we see Mo looking out to the world beyond his little wooden house gives a sense of optimism and the possibility of further adventures with his new companion and this idea is reinforced by the end papers filled with stones at the beginning and blue skies at the end. 

Mo has such a huge beard but the illustrator has used this to great effect as a way to show the frustration of Mo as he tries to oust the pesky crow. The illustrations extend the text for example when Mo is in bed asleep, we can see a painting of his wife on the wall and she is carrying a backpack. In the past Mo must have led a more adventurous and hopefully happy life. The bright colours enhance the tone of this story especially the colour of the sky which becomes brighter as each page is turned symbolising hope for their shared future.

Hopefully you now have lots of questions - many of which can be answered by a very close examination of the illustrations in this book.

• Why does Mo live alone?
• Why does he shun any form of company?
• Is he afraid of meeting others?
• Is the wall keeping strangers out or locking Mo away?
• Why does crow persevere to make friends with Mo?
• What does this wall represent?
• How and why did Mo change over the course of the story?

More ideas can be found in the teachers notes on the publisher web site - Allen and Unwin. 

Mo and Crow is one of those perfect picture books that you can share with a young child and then explore in a much deeper way with a group of older students. Here is an interview with the author and Paperbark words.  You can see Jonathan Bentley's books here. 

Mo and Crow is a CBCA 2022 Notable book.

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything has a terrific Pinterest of picture books which feature walls - they could be used for a very interesting mini unit or theme in a classroom or library.

Here are some to use with Mo and Crow:

Littlelight

Little Mouse and the Red Wall

Use this one with older students - Upper Primary and High School

The way the crow helps Mo overcome his bad temper, helps him find a friend and helps him welcome someone into his life reminded me of the Bear and Mouse books by Bonnie Becker and the Badger book series by Moritz Petz and the Bear and Duck series by Suzanne Bloom and also the books about Bear and Duck by Jory John.