Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski have collaborated together on many Meg and Mog books over the years and they are also shown on the new CITV channel on satellite television.
For those of you who haven't come across this pair before I will explain who they are. Meg is a witch, not just any witch though, but a bit of an unsuccessful one whose spells don't always turn out the way they are meant to. Every witch needs her little black cat though and Mog is always there for her. Their other friend who is always there when advice is needed is Owl.
Most of these books come in both paperback and board book versions so even the very young can enjoy them without doing any damage. This version from our library is the paperback version though and doesn't appear to be available in board book form.
***The Story***
Meg gets frustrated when trying to make bubble and squeak in her cauldron as Mog and Owl hunt round for bats. In true Meg style she decides they need a bigger room and casts her spell.
"Cabbage & onion Cavern & Canyon Bucket & broom A big new room."
The result as always isn't quite what she expects as she falls through her floor into a cave. That's where the friends meet a prehistoric man called Crom and the creature that he has caught for dinner. This creature is actually a woolly mammoth who can only say one thing "Og!" Luckily Meg introduces Crom to her bubble and squeak, and Og is saved.
Throughout the story we learn that Og likes to eat lots of different food that Meg cooks including oodles of noodles and that cavemen sleep on the floor. Meg and Mog prefer their home comforts and fly home again but something still keeps eating their food. Can you guess who it is?
***The Illustrations***
The illustrations in Meg and Mog books are always bright and colourful and particularly appealing to youngsters. Jan Pienkowski chooses a bright background colour for each of the pages and the foreground pictures stand out because of this. The drawings are simple but amusing throughout.
***My Thoughts***Meg is one of my favourite characters as she is just so hopeless and funny. I can totally sympathise in this book when Owl and Mog drive her round the bend with their antics as it's just like my kids, when they are running riot. Bat hunts do sound like much more fun though than the games my darlings get up to. It's always when you're cooking too.
Anyway, I digress, back to this book. Although it is a very simple story with lots of speech bubbles along the way and oversized sounds such as BOING, it actually introduces kids to their first look at prehistoric man and the things that they did. They find drawings on the walls, a stone arrow and Crum is dressed in a very fetching little number made of animal skin. OK so it's not politically correct to wear animal furs these days but that was all they had in those times.
This book also gives an imaginary aspect into how cavemen progressed into eating other things. Was there really a witch around teaching them about new things to eat and how to cook them? It makes a nice story for your children and brings up good talking points.
I love the illustrations in the Meg and Mog - they really make me laugh with the oversized expressions of emotion they convey, such as Meg tearing her hair out in frustration.
If your child hasn't been introduced to this series of books then I would really recommend them as they are both fun and educational.
***Other Info***
The recommended selling price for the paperback is £4.99 but Tesco have it on sale for £3.74.
I love the Meg and Mog books.......my little girl has this one too, although we haven't read it for a little while.......must dig it out of her bookshelf tomorrow! x
Sweary 08.05.2006 09:50
I have always enjoyed Jan Pienkowski's illustrations so this sounds a good bet should Sweary Spawn eventually materialise! Cheers Sweary.
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