Clouds's Reviews > Meg and Mog

I've commented before on how hard it is to review picture books like this - I mean, by the time I've got into my flow here I'll have used more words than are contained within this entire book.

This is our second Meg and Mog book. We started with Meg on the Moon because I'm a sci-fi geek. Fin (my 18-month old son) loves that one very much, so we decided to get him the original for Christmas.

How hard is it to buy gifts for a toddler? We got him this book, some soap/crayons that you can draw with in the bath that wipe off, some foam letters which stick to the wall when wet (another bath toy) a giant teddy bear and a toddler laptop (so he stops trying to steal the adult computer). Every present (bar the teddy) he was more interested in the box and/or wrapping paper. I mean, he loves them all now, but I saw the same reaction from all our family giving him presents too - they get all psyched-up about how much he's going to love their carefully chosen gifts... and then Fin sits there scrunching the paper, giggling and sticking his head inside the box.... and totally ignoring the present itself. And each time it happened they would look vaguely disappointed, try not to, and then go "Ah well, he's a toddler!" Apparently it's universally accepted that toddlers have not yet learned the social rules of gratitude - how long will this slack last?

So... Meg and Mog. Lovely artwork - simple, crisp, bright and expressive. Perfect for young minds (and their Daddy's). The story itself a bit of a let down. I was expecting more character development, more emotional angst - but there's nothing at stake here, nothing driving the tension... It's just a story about a witch, who lives with her cat and an owl. She gets ready to go out to a party, then goes to the party and the witches at the party all cast a spell, the spell goes wrong and turns the rest of the witches into mice (inexplicably sparing Meg herself), and the Meg's cat Mog chases the mice. The end. I mean.. who didn't see that twist at the end coming? But they cut out before the really juicy scene where Mog catches one of the mice, plays with it, teases it, slices it open, hooks out the purple wibbly organs with one claw, and eats the rest whole...

So - it's really just as good as Meg on the Moon... except it doesn't include any phrase as good as 'Lunar Module' which earned that book a fourth star all on its own. So Nicoll will have to settle for three here. A very solid picture book.

I have one genuine gripe: Owl. There are three 'people' living in the house, Meg, Mog and Owl. Why doesn't Owl get a name? I mean, if they were called Human, Cat and Owl I wouldn't have raised the issue. But Owl is part of the family, he shares breakfast with them, in the other book he makes a picnic for them - but he doesn't get a name? That seems mean. Unless it's saying something profound about Owl psychology? To each and every Owl, "I am Owl" is the only concept of self they can grasp? What happens if an Owl meets another Owl "Hi Owl," "Hello to you too, Owl"? What if there's a whole crowd of Owls and someone shouts "Hey Owl!" - do all the heads swivel 180 degrees and then bob up and down to triangulate the shouters location while they try to deduce who was being addressed?

If you haven't seen it, check out Ze Frank's True Facts About The Owl (it's only 4 minutes long) because "That's how an Owl do."

I want answers.

After this I read: Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball