Mog’s Amazing Birthday Caper

Mog the Forgetful Cat #7

by Judith Kerr

Share in fifty years of a really remarkable cat… Mog is everyone’s favourite family cat! Join her in this warm-hearted and funny alphabet adventure, when everything goes wrong at a birthday party… Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Mog the Forgetful Cat with special anniversary editions of her much-loved adventures. From the creator of The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Mog the Forgetful Cat comes a delightful family adventure about a really remarkable cat! On the day of Debbie’s birthday party, Mog sets off on an adventure through the alphabet, filled with dragons in the dark and the jaguar with a jug of jelly. M is for Mog, but also for the mad mouse monster! The perfect Mog adventure for learning the alphabet. Mog the Forgetful Cat was first published fifty years ago, and Mog has been delighting children all over the world with her adventures ever since. These books are the perfect gifts for boys, girls and families everywhere! Judith Kerr's book 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 10-07-2023.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Cats, Audiobook, Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 1986

About the author

Judith Kerr was a German-born British writer and illustrator who has created both enduring picture books such as the Mog series and The Tiger Who Came To Tea and acclaimed novels for older children such as the autobiographical When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit which give a child's-eye view of the Second World War.

Kerr was born in Berlin but left Germany with her parents and her brother, Michael, in 1933, soon after the Nazis first came to power. They were forced to leave as her father, noted drama critic, journalist and screenwriter Alfred Kerr, had openly criticised the Nazis,who burned his books shortly after the family had fled Germany. They travelled first to Switzerland and then on into France, before finally settling in Britain, where Kerr has lived ever since. She subsequently became a naturalised British citizen.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Mog accidentally pops one of the balloons at Debbie's birthday party, and partially crushes the cake and candles while attempting to get away, the resultant fuss from her human family sends her off to the corner for a catnap. Here she experiences a surreal dream involving dragons, elephants eating one of the party guests, a giraffe in a helicopter, an Indian with ice cream, a jaguar, a gigantic mouse monster, a pink palace with purple pillars, a flash flood, a flying carpet, and an unexpected plunge into shark-infested waters. Fortunately for Mog, she is awakened at this point, and joins the other celebrants on a trip to the zoo...

Both storybook and alphabet book, Mog's Amazing Birthday Caper features the same kind of bizarre (and entertaining) dream imagery as Mog in the Dark , cleverly keeping the reader involved in the narrative, while also making excellent use of alliteration to explore each letter. Poor Mog looks so distressed as Mr. Thomas scolds her, telling her that "Biting balloons is bad! Bursting birthday balloons is beastly!", and so smugly pleased when an elephant eats spoiled cry-baby Emily (in the dream!). As always with Judith Kerr's Mog books, the artwork adds significantly to the pleasure of reading, and Mog's many expressions are as appealingly droll as ever. I could have lived without the Indian figure, dressed in stereotypical Plains regalia - clearly meant to be a dream reflection of the party guest wearing an Indian "costume" - and subtracted a half-star on that account, but leaving that one issue aside, this was an entertaining addition to Mog's adventures.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’re big Mog fans in our house- but I’d never read this one before. It’s got a strong fever dream quality and only one letter/page/aspect hasn’t dated super well. A fun approach to an alphabet story, and of course, all the better for Mog holding it all together.

[পুটুশের · Rating 5 out of 5]

How friendly tiger it was with the Indian!

[Helen Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ABC book that has a story running through. Each new letter has words within the story that start with that letter - great introduction to illiteration.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A creative and fun way to practice letters and sounds!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of dream sequences so this Mog book is not my favorite.

[Dodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but a cute story

[Marina Rastall · Rating 1 out of 5]

The “Indian” for I is so culturally insensitive- immediately hid it from my kids, who received a bundle of Mog books from their grandparents. Disappointed.

[Gemma Treacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic for early readers, and those with EAL. It is a picture book with little text and comes with a CD for audio reading, so would be fantastic for a child with SEN. The book is about a cat called Mog, who falls asleep and dreams about various adventures based on the letters of the alphabet. It would be a book that I would recommend for the EYFS, as the pictures are fantastic and it can be quite humerous at times. It can support children with their understanding of the order of the alphabet, as well as introduce them to a variety of words beginning with each letter.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mog is a cute cat; the illustrations are appealing and this book is easy to read aloud.

[Stacey Schmidt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a great Mog story. A strange nonsensical ABC book.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit odd... Rather forced. But an alternative ABC nonetheless