The Guardian describes ‘When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit’ as a children’s book with adult themes, with the parents struggling both with the practicalities of being constantly on the move, and their ultimate isolation in England, where they can’t communicate with anyone.Īs an adult reflecting on the book after (ahem!) 25 years, I can appreciate all the nuances more, and I feel I should reread it, and purchase the other two books as well. Kerr’s vivid descriptions of Anna’s sense of dislocation and otherness were uncomfortable and all too real – the family escapes first to Switzerland and then to France, where our heroine is baffled by the school system and making friends. This book, then, was my introduction to what it was like to live through a war. Anne Frank was still unknown to me at that time. When I was a little older, though, I came across ‘When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit’, the first in the trilogy of books which were semi-autobiographical.Īt aged ten or so, my understanding of the Second World War and its impact on the everyday citizens of Germany, particularly the Jews, was, unsurprisingly, hazy. When Hitler Stole Pink RabbitĪs well as the Mog books, I loved ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’, mostly because it’s such a bonkers premise for a book. Mog, of course, is bumped off in Kerr’s final story (not including the 2015 Sainsbury’s tie-in), which seems a little hard on his young fans.
In a fairly unlikely conclusion, Mr Thomas and Debbie narrowly avoid running the baby over he is saved unintentionally by Mog, who knocks into him while going the other way. In ‘Mog and the Baby’ (‘Mog und Das Baby’), Mrs Thomas looks after her friend’s baby, who torments the cat. He often gets into trouble, but always ends by winning the day. I’m using both he and she for this post!įirst published in 1970, the 17 books recount Mog’s adventures, with and without her human companions. In the English editions, Mog is apparently female, and even has kittens of her own. Rather confusingly, in the German versions Mog is ‘der Kater’, suggesting he is male, and we’ve always regarded him that way. Thomas was the given name of her husband, the screenwriter Nigel Kneale. The family Mog lives with, the Thomases, is based on her own, with Debbie and Michael given the middle names of her two children. Mog was created by German children’s author Judith Kerr, who died earlier this year. Maybe another child will enjoy him, or he’ll get to enjoy his retirement! The History of Mog the Cat I think Adi is probably a bit old for him now, but she still asks after him, and she’s only just, I think, getting to the age when she doesn’t believe what we tell her about Mog. He’s been designated “a naughty cat” now, who eats chicken pizza and roams the fields at night. I looked after her quite a bit before she started school, and Mog came on many of our adventures, hiding in my bag until we got to the farm or museum. In more recent years, Mog the Cat has been the companion of our wonderful goddaught er, Adi. I’ve read Mog and the Baby so many times now that my Dad and I still use some of the quotes from it between ourselves (yes, that’s probably weird). While I never played with it, I DID read the Mog books – in German. This Mog the Cat belonged to my baby brother, Ed, and he carried it around with him by the tail everywhere he went. “She’ll have to go to the vee ee tee,” says Mrs Thomas.First time on the blog or new to the Time Pieces History Project? Find out what it’s all about here, and then come back to this page for today’s item – Mog the Cat.
Mog is chasing a butterfly one day, when something happens to her paw… Ouch! Mog is everyone’s favourite family cat! Join her in this warm-hearted and funny escapade about Mog’s sore paw, and her trip to the V. "Mog loves babies," says Mrs Thomas but suddenly Mog isn't quite so sure! All Mog wants to do and sleep and play but there is no chance of that now… Mog's peaceful day is shattered when a baby comes to visit. Mog and the Baby - Mog is everyone’s favourite family cat! Join her in this warm-hearted and funny escapade about Mog’s first meeting with a baby… Share in fifty years of a really remarkable cat…
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