"Once there was a cat called Mog and 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." And so begins this hilarious tale of the adorable Mog, a plump kitty-cat who, while she may not have been the cleverest feline out there, had a heart full of love for her human family. When Mog's forgetfulness precipitates one crisis too many, leading to an unpleasant scene, the poor confused cat flees to the dark garden, where she thinks "dark thoughts," wondering if any of the Thomases even want her around anymore. But then, Mog sees a light in the kitchen...
It may sound like an odd thing for a self-professed cat-lover to say, but I have met some astoundingly dumb cats in my life. None more so than my sister's cat Sweetpea, whom I have been known to call "Substance Abuse Kitty," because of her predilection for licking unhealthy things, like photo negatives, or the gold paint on wedding invitations (hand-made for my sister's wedding - now that was a crisis! ha!). Needless to say, I have a real soft spot in my heart for such cats - I just can't help it, I feel amused by and protective of them, all at the same time - so I just wanted to scoop the adorably confused Mog out of this story, and give her a big cuddle. Her distress felt so real to me - after all, animals don't understand, for the most part, why people get upset with them - and her eventual (accidental) triumph so satisfying!
Humorous and heart-warming, this is a picture-book I would recommend to all true cat-lovers, especially any who have ever known one that was a little... well, forgetful!