Story

It’s the night before Christmas and the Thomas family are dreaming peacefully, apart from Mog! Her tail gets tangled up in tinsel which catches fire and spreads to the house. Mog leads the fire brigade to the house but Christmas is ruined. The story ends when all the neighbours bring Christmas to the Thomas’ house. The ending was really touching and shows how people can come together when calamity strikes, especially in this season of good cheer!

Character

Mog is a classic beloved character. She’s a cat that gets up to mischief. Judith Kerr’s illustrations really bring Mog to life.

Art

The art style is hand drawn with pencil and crayons. It’s child friendly and comforting, although a bit simple for me, but Mog looks great as she leaps across the pages. A little Photoshop would make the images look better.

Moral

It’s a very good message to teach children about fire in the home, especially at Christmas time as decorations are very flammable. It might even make adults take care when decorating their house. I loved the ending of the book, when all the neighbours help the Thomas family clean up and have a good Christmas.

Value for money

I bought this book for £3 from my local Sainsbury’s and £2 of that goes to Save the Children, to improve child literacy in the UK. I don’t think I need to say anymore!

Age appropriateness

I think children between 3 and 6 will enjoy this book (and adults too!)

My vote

Five stars! Great story, great value, helps charity.

Watch the feature adaptation of Mog’s story;

Watch the making of the feature presentation;

Author Bio:

‘Judith Kerr ‘ was born on 14 June 1923 in Berlin but escaped from Hitler’s Germany with her parents and brother in 1933 when she was nine years old. Her father was a drama critic and a distinguished writer whose books were burned by the Nazis. The family passed through Switzerland and France before arriving finally in England in 1936. Judith went to eleven different schools, worked in the Red Cross during the war, and won a scholarship to the Central School of Arts and Crafts in 1945. Since then she has worked as an artist, a BBC television scriptwriter and, for the past thirty years, as author and illustrator of children’s books.

How I rate books:

Mostly I look for:

• Great images
• Exciting story
• Message or meaning

Five stars: Only my very favourite books get a 5 star rating
Four stars: Books that I enjoy
Three stars: Books that are okay
Two stars: Books that are pretty rubbis
One star: Books that make me mad