These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.
Robin Gow - Author
A grief-centred verse novel combining letters, school and home life, and cryptid mystery. Its emotional focus is Noah’s search for connection and belonging while navigating loss and identity.
Noah writes to Mothman after Lewis, his best friend, dies in a car accident, and makes the cryptid part of his science-fair project.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The story presents grief as emotionally complex, alongside friendship, joy, curiosity and the possibility of finding connection after loss.
Talk about: What forms of remembrance help Noah keep moving while still missing Lewis?
Identity and belonging
Noah is a transgender boy who begins opening up about his queerness and gender identity while seeking belonging at school.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book presents this mainly as information or explanation.
Talk about: How does Noah decide when and with whom to share parts of himself?
Monsters and difference
Noah questions what it means to be a monster and connects Mothman’s perceived otherness with his own feelings of being different.AmbiguousAmbiguous: the book leaves its position open to more than one reasonable reading.Ambiguous: the book leaves its position open to more than one reasonable reading.
How the book presents it: The motif appears to invite reflection on stigma and self-identification, but the cryptid’s meaning is not reduced to a single interpretation.
Talk about: Does the story ultimately separate being seen as different from being harmful?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It may offer a space to discuss how grief can coexist with curiosity, humour, friendship and hope. The book also considers how communities can support people while some remain unaccepting.
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What Deserves Attention
Consider whether a story involving a friend’s sudden death, grief, discrimination and questions about gender identity suits the conversations your child is ready to have. Cryptid encounters may also bring suspense.
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A Conversation Worth Having
How does Noah’s idea of a ‘monster’ change, if at all, as he encounters grief, difference and friendship? What does the story suggest support can and cannot change?
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Reading Approach
Read alongside Noah rather than rushing to resolve the grief. Pause after letters or emotionally intense passages, invite the child’s interpretation of Mothman, and let them choose whether to discuss personal parallels.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Grief and remembrance: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Identity and belonging: The specific incidents of acceptance, rejection and disclosure are not fully detailed.
Monsters and difference: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
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