Mog the Forgetful Cat - Judith Kerr

.../> JUDITH KERR AND HER MOG BOOKS
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‘Mog the forgetful cat' was the first in a series of Mog books by Judith Kerr. Mog went on to star in a further nine books after this one which include;

Mog and the Vee Ee Tee (978-0001982116)

Mog's Christmas (978-0007171354)

Mog and the Baby (978-0007171323)

Mog in the Dark (978-0007171330)

Mog’s Bad thing (978-0006647553)
...(978-0007296545)

Mog on Fox Night (978-0007171361) and then finally and sadly she wrote the last in the series which was;

Goodbye Mog (978-0007149698)
I have put the ISBN numbers in brackets should you wish to find any of these books and they are all on Amazon some for a little more than 1p but often not a lot more.

JUDITH KERR- THE AUTHOR
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Judith Kerr was born in Berlin in ... more

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR AND WHERE CAN I BUY IT?
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“MOG THE FORGETFUL CAT” by JUDITH KERR is published by Picture lions publications and the
ISBN number is 978-0006640622. You can purchase it from Amazon for 1p in either hardback or paperback editions. Although my copy is paperback i would suggest if you have the choice to go for a hard back as they are sturdier and last better with young children. The books is aimed at younger children, my own children lived this book from about 7 months onwards and I have read it to infant classes at schools over the years and they have all loved it.

JUDITH KERR AND HER MOG BOOKS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘Mog the forgetful cat' was the first in a series of Mog books by Judith Kerr. Mog went on to star in a further nine books after this one which include;

Mog and the Vee Ee Tee (978-0001982116)

Mog's Christmas (978-0007171354)

Mog and the Baby (978-0007171323)

Mog in the Dark (978-0007171330)

Mog’s Bad thing (978-0006647553)

Mog's Amazing Birthday Caper (978-0006633839)

Mog’s ABC (978-0007296545)

Mog on Fox Night (978-0007171361) and then finally and sadly she wrote the last in the series which was;

Goodbye Mog (978-0007149698)
I have put the ISBN numbers in brackets should you wish to find any of these books and they are all on Amazon some for a little more than 1p but often not a lot more.

JUDITH KERR- THE AUTHOR
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Judith Kerr was born in Berlin in 1923 but was lucky enough to escape Hitler's Germany. She fled with her parents and brother in 1933 when she was only nine years old and after travelling though a number of countries Judith and her family arrived in England in 1936. They were fortunate to make that escape as her father was a drama critic and a distinguished writer whose books were burned by the Nazis.
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Judith went to eleven different schools in her life and during the war worked in the Red Cross. Since then she attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts in 1945Following this she has worked as an artist, a BBC television scriptwriter and an author and illustrator of children's books.
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The Mog books are very well know, she also wrote “The tiger who Came to Tea” and three children’s books based on her childhood; “When Hitler stole the Pink Rabbit”, “Bombs on Aunt Dainty”, “A Small Person Far Away” which I have not read myself but my daughter thoroughly recommends them.
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WHAT ABOUT MOG THEN?
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Mog is a rather chubby tabby cat with a white bib at the front and four white paws. I am sure Judith Kerr must own a cat as her illustrations capture the expressions and emotions of a cat to perfection. Mog is so loveable and yet as a cat owner you know only too well how infuriating some of the things Mog does can be. Mog’s facial expressions vary from bemused to long suffering and progress from thoroughly miffed to angry are all so well captured by Judith Kerr in these books.

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Mog lived with the Thomas family, Mr and Mrs Thomas, Debbie and Nicky and she was clearly adored by all despite the fact she was ‘very forgetful’. Mog forgets things that our cats forget so i think this is the appeal of the book. Adults read it and are amused by the straight forward text and illustrations showing what really happened, children just think Mog is forgetful. The picture of Nicky hugging Mog is just so true, she looks so uncomfortable and has a long suffering expression on her face while Nicky is just so fond of her and has a look of pure contentment!

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Another well observed piece of cat behaviour is when Mog is washing, she often forgets that's what she's doing and gazes into the distance thinking of something else altogether, while one of her legs stays sticking in the air, this is just exactly what our cats do too.

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Finally my husband spent a good few days knocking a hole through a thick brick wall in the back of our house and then he fitted double cat flaps at either end of the tunnel. With a little training our cats can now use this perfectly well but like Mog seem to forget where it is or how to use it at times.

"The garden always made Mog very excited.
She smelled all the smells.
She chased the birds.
She climbed the trees.
She ran around and around with a big fluffed up tail.
And then she forgot the cat flap.
She forgot she had a cat flap.
She wanted to go back into the house but she couldn’t remember how."

This is where she gets annoying as she tries various ways to get back in. One method was to sit in Mrs Thomas’s beautifully planted window box outside the kitchen window and meow till she was let in. I just love the understated comment;

“Afterwards you could always tell where she had sat”
This is followed by the illustration showing the flattened plants.

The children always protect Mog whenever she does something annoying while the adults have a phrase which children love joining in with; “Bother that cat!”

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The other antics Mog gets up to include sitting on the television completely oblivious to the fact that her tail is hanging down over the screen while Mr Thomas is trying to watch TV. Mog sits on Mrs T’s hat and squashes it. She jumps on the kitchen windowsill when chased by a dog and meows so loudly that Mrs Thomas drops the saucepan of peas on the floor.

BACK TO THE STORY
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We now have an idea of Mog’s character and the story develops. Mog is licking Debbie’s hair one night ; Mog is extremely happy thinking how soft Debbie’s hair is meanwhile Debbie is dreaming that she is being licked by a tiger. Debbie wakes up screaming and both parents rush to her side wearing their night clothes and looking distinctly unimpressed. Mog runs out of her cat flap into the garden.
“Mog sat in the dark and thought dark thoughts....... Nobody likes me. They’ve all gone to bed and there is no-one to let me in.”

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Then she notices that luckily there is someone in the kitchen and maybe he will let her in. The burglar is dressed in eye mask with torch and swag bag! Mog jumps on the ill fated window box and gives it her best “MEOW!”
The burglar drops his booty and wakes the house hold up. The police are called and one comes (obviously this book was set in the good old days when you got a response, beyond being given a crime number, to a call to the police).

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Needless to say Mog is the hero and referred to by the policeman as a “remarkable cat”. Mog of course is totally oblivious to her new found status as guard cat. They decide that she would probably prefer an egg to a medal and the last page shows a very self satisfied Mog wearing a medal, a huge grin and enjoying a whole egg in her dish.
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MY VOTE
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As you have probably gathered reading this review, I am a fan of Mog as think Judith Kerr captures the joys and annoyances of cat ownership and portrays them through her wonderful illustrations and dead pan text.
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The illustrations are simple line drawings rather cartoon like. The clothes of the characters are somewhat dated but children don’t notice things like that anyway and it gives a feeling of a time passed when life was simpler and more innocent i feel.
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My own children LOVED the Mog books and i enjoyed reading then as the text tells a story but then there is so much more you can see in the pictures and talk about with children. Stories like Mog help to develop children’s sense of humour and allow you as a reader to share humour with the children as listeners.

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If you do not already know these lovely books then I urge you to find a young child and a Mog book and share the joy of the wonderful stories and illustrations with them.
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Thank you for reading and this review may be posted on other sites under my same user name.

© Catsholiday
 

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