Mog (Judith Kerr)
| Mog | |
|---|---|
| Mog character | |
 Mog on the cover of the first book | |
| First appearance | Mog the Forgetful Cat (1970) |
| Last appearance | Mog's Christmas Calamity (2015) |
| Created by | Judith Kerr |
| Information | |
| Species | cat |
| Gender | Male |
| Family | Thomas |
| Relatives |
Mr. Thomas (owner) Mrs. Thomas (owner) Nicky (owner) Debbie (owner) |
| Nationality | American |
Mog is the main character in a series of children's books written by Judith Kerr. Other regularly occurring characters include Mr and Mrs Thomas (Mog's owners) and their two children Nicky and Debbie. In each book Mog gets into a different conundrum with a new character or event. Unusually for a popular children's series, Mog dies in the final book, 2002's Goodbye, Mog.[1][2]
Kerr based her illustrations of the house in which the family live on her own family home in Barnes, London, and the two children were named after the middle names of her own son and daughter, Matthew and Tacy.[3] The family name "Thomas" is from the first name of her husband, Nigel Kneale, upon whom the appearance of Mr Thomas was based.[3]
In 2004, Mog returned as an animated character for the 2004 TV series called Mog the Forgetful Cat based on the books on the same name created by Judith Kerr.
In November 2015, Mog returned as a CGI character for the 2015 Christmas advert for supermarket Sainsbury's. In Mog's Christmas Calamity Mog accidentally starts a fire in her home after having a bad dream, but is able to alert the fire brigade (as she had called 999 when scrabbling across a phone); she is hailed a hero for saving her owners, and (after her owners' neighbors pool their resources to undo the damage she had done, in reference to Sainsbury's "Christmas is for sharing" tagline) is later given an egg as a treat. Kerr herself appears in this advert as a neighbour of the Thomas family. A special plush Mog and book version of the story were sold exclusively through Sainsbury's, with all profits being donated to Save the Children's child literacy work.[4][5]
Publications
Titles include (with year of first publication):
- Mog the Forgetful Cat (1970)
- Mog's Christmas (1976)
- Mog and the Baby (1980)
- Mog in the Dark (1983)
- Mog and Me (1984)
- Mog's Family of Cats (1985)
- Mog's Amazing Birthday Caper (1986)
- Mog and Bunny (1988)
- Mog and Barnaby (also known as Look Out, Mog, 1991)
- Mog on Fox Night (1993)
- Mog in the Garden (1994)
- Mog's Kittens (1994)
- Mog and the Granny (1995)
- Mog and the Vee Ee Tee (1996)
- Mog's Bad Thing (2000)
- Goodbye, Mog (2002)
- Mog's Christmas Calamity (2015)
References
- ↑ Kate Kellaway (2002-11-07). "Review: Goodbye Mog by Judith Kerr | Books". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
- ↑ Dina Rabinovitch (2005-11-03). "Why Mog had to die | Books". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
- 1 2 Murray, Andy (2006). Into the Unknown: The Fantastic Life of Nigel Kneale (paperback). London: Headpress. p. 110. ISBN 1-900486-50-4.
- ↑ Matilda Battersby (16 November 2015). "Sainsbury's Christmas Advert 'Mog's Christmas Calamity': Why Judith Kerr Deserves a Medal". Independent UK. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
- ↑ "Sainsbury's resurrects disaster-prone Mog the cat for new Christmas book, ad (VIDEO)". Malay Mail Online. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.