Mums and mogs by Mick Elliott

A funny, captivating roam around the neighbourhood of mums and the moggies that attach themselves, is offered in this wonderful picture book, full of colour and fun, family and just a bit of nonsense. Four cats of different hues stroll across the title page, their eyes firmly watching the reader, readying them for the fun to be had when the page is turned.

Just as there are many names for the mother in the family, so too are multi names for cats. From then on are a series of full page images of mums and their cats, snuggling together, to building or cooking together. Each page shows a companionable relationship between the cats and the mums, paralleling the closeness of  the family and the things stye do together. 

Mixing mum with milky dog shows mum in the kitchen baking. There are several helpers, a couple of kids licking fingers and making a mess, while the cat licks up the overflow from the bench. Handy mag with a helpful go shows the mum changing the car’s tyre with the dog operating the jack. Meeting mum with a messy dog shows mum at the computer trying to do some work while the messy go spreads her papers all over the floor Seesaw mum with a sliding go shows mu and a child playing on the seasaw, the dog sliding up and down between them.

Every page presents a wonderful image of mum and what they do with their children, accompanied by a cat. The mogs are wonderful with their streamlined bodies and nonchalant looks, while the mums range from extreme wakefulness to resting and camping, playing hide and seek to reading, sledding down the hill with the children and the cat to playing the trumpet and playing with their kids on the playground equipment. 

This is a wonderful celebration of mums and the roles they play in a child’s life. Full of colour and fun, wisdom and humour, the pages are a treat, inviting readers to make up their own alliterative phase about their mum and their mog. 

I loved the various images of mogs and mums, and the extra details on each page to ponder over, while the cover has the faces on the front, peering out at the reader, and the backs of heads on the back cover. 

Lots of fun will be had producing the alliterative word on each page, and then making up their own once the book has been read.

Themes: Mums, Cats, Mother’s Day, Humour, Alliteration.

Fran Knight