“Once there was a cat called Mog. She lived with a family called Thomas. Mog was nice but not very clever. She didn’t understand a lot of things. A lot of other things she forgot. She was a very forgetful cat.” Judith Kerr, Mog the Forgetful Cat,
Just look at round-faced, well-fed Mog with her white bib and paws and tail like a stripey sausage.
As befits her name, Mog, is an ordinary cat who lives with an ordinary family and lives an ordinary life in an ordinary house with a back garden and scary street out front. Mog is not very intelligent and is very forgetful. She forgets she has been fed, falls into a dream half way through washing her leg, forgets she cannot fly, and forgets she has her own cat flap and does not need to demand to let in and out.
Mog has Feelings
She may be ordinary and not very bright and she may do bothersome and annoying things but Mog has feelings.
She is ,as you may have gathered, both a species of small child and a recognizable domestic cat who does typical cat things like sit on the television and dangle a tail over the screen (Remember – cathode ray tube TVs used to be warm places and cats are always seeking places to boil their brains. They were also box shaped and so convenient for cat perching.).
I’m surprised that the flower vase is not upended (yet).
Fun facts: Judith Kerr based Mog on her own cat (called Mog) and the house on her own family home . The two children were named after the middle names of her own son and daughter and the family name “Thomas” is from the first name of her husband, Nigel Kneale, upon whom the appearance of Mr Thomas was based.
Neale is best know for his creation of Bernard Quatermass the scientist who was a character in various very scary sci fi productions. The Quatermass Experiment was a terrifying TV serial broadcast in the summer of 1953 that I was too young to watch and anyway we didn’t have a TV. The very name scared me nonetheless or maybe that was because of the later Quatermass and the Pit. There’s a link to the first episode below.
Dark Thoughts
But back to Mog. As I was saying – Mog has feelings and she feels most dreadfully hurt, misunderstood and mistreated and sorry for herself.
Mog sat in the dark and had dark thoughts.
Poor misunderstood, under-appreciated Mog.
But then something happens and Mog gets the recognition she craves
I don’t want to give away too much of the plot but this recognition comes by chance and not because Mog does anything sensible or brave. It involves a crime and because Mog saw a chance to be given her supper. (Remember, she is forgetful. There is no suggestion of cat neglect here.) Mog saves the day by mistake.
And all is well. And so the adults – including the criminal – have a nice cup of tea and Mog has her award.
It’s all highly satisfactory.
The brilliance of a book like Mog is in how the words and the illustrations are tied together to tell the story. Sometimes the pictures do the work and when Mr. or Mrs. Thomas cry, “Bother that cat!” it is through the drawings that we see why. Lucky the child who learns to read with books like this.
Another Fun Fact: Mog’s Pronouns
There are seventeen Mog books in all and they have been translated into many languages.
When the German translators gave Mog the wrong pronouns Judith Kerr’s response was to give “Mog kittens and let them sort it out”.
As always – one book leads to another, and another.
Outstanding picture books like Mog brings the work of the Margaret Meek Spencer to mind. She was another remarkable colleague of Jimmy Britton’s at the University of London Institute of Education.
I heard her speak the year How Texts Teach What Readers Learn was published. it’s a about literacy and learning and how children learn from stories and read the world. And it’s about children’s pictures books and what they teach. It was this talk that introduced me to classics like John Burningham’s Mr. Gumpy’s Outing and Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s the The Jolly Postman.
The Quatermass Experiment
The opening is 1950s chilling high drama at its best.
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As mog or spot gets older she emits sounds perhaps to vocalise her inner pain, soothe herself...to let feelings out..or, to elicit care in her old age in time of need...but perhaps not for if u are a cat you naturally try never to ask or in asking or crying show your vulnerability and so attract predation.
Thank you for introducing me to Mog, the most entertaining cat.
I had never heard of Mog, but I know my granddaughters and I will become friends.
I'm thinking gift time!!
Children who get brilliant illustrated books like "Mog" to enjoy are lucky indeed. They teach us how to read and they teach us about the world.
Mog sounds like an excellent sort of cat!
Moody, self-centered and ungrateful. Selfish and lacking in self awareness yet entirely appealing and totally cat-like. The noble cat of children's fiction - full of good intentions yet totally oblivious to others.
I love your review of Mog the cat. It’s highly satisfactory! You’ve triggered me to share about my calico Spot. I inherited her from my dad already named. I would’ve named her Puff, because Spot was the dog and Puff the cat in my first grade reader. She was probably around 4 when he died 11 yeqrs ago. I love that Mog “saves the day by mistake”! I’m much taken by the line “Mog sat in the dark / and thought dark thoughts.” In the last 6 months Spot has begun emitting mournful-sounding, dissonant yowls in the dark early morning hours. They come from her sleeping place in the kitchen. Very atypical. She’s always been placid and not prone to vocalizing except in a purry mew when rubbing my feet. I wonder if age is bringing night terrors upon her? I call out her name several times to let her know she’s got company. That seems to help. My apologies for unleashing my cat-alog on you! BTW, I love the idea of children’s books as vehicles for foreign language learning. Those kinds of pristine narratives with a certain amount of repetition can be helpful for building skills. Just recently I’ve thought of practicing my Arabic by translating a children’s English text into the language. It would be an adventure!
Spot sounds like quite the character. "Spot and the Night Kitchen" could be the next bestseller.
My experience is that cats can get disoriented and sometimes they do need the reassurance of our presence.
Children's books as a language / culture teaching tool - Yes! Look at "Mog" - full of opportunities and cultural references to help understand the UK of the recent past.
A wonderful choice for the club - my children loved Mog, despite being born much later than 1970. I think it's one of those eternal books!
Agreed. In some ways it is out-dated but the key elements of character, plot and insight endure. We all know Mog the cat and Mog the human being. Most of us have also been Mog. Or at least lived with her in one form or another.
Mog has been loved for years in the libraries and schools in which I've worked. Now you've discovered her there are lots of charming books featuring her and her family for you to enjoy too. I think you've captured Mog's personality in your review.
Mog certainly does have a personality! Judith Kerr gave the world another of her gifts in creating her.
A wonderful series of books for all cat lovers I'm sure.
What an enchanting book with such delightful drawings. Obviously a very dedicated cat family. What sort of books do modern children have, or do they even have an actual book with pages that turn?