That delightfully befuddled feline Mog returns in this fifteenth title devoted to her adventures, doing something she shouldn't when confronted with the unknown. Contented with her garden, with its grass and flowers, and its lavatory behind the tree, Mog is shocked to discover that it has disappeared underneath a mysterious white flapping thing one night. Frightened by the flapping of the white intruder (a tent sent up in the garden, for the next day's cat show), Mog relieves herself in the most inappropriate place possible: on Mr. Thomas's chair. The ensuing hubbub the next morning has our confused and frightened feline decamping for the attic, where she hides until an unexpected turn of events has her arriving at the cat show in a rather unconventional way...

Begun in 1970, with Mog the Forgetful Cat, Judith Kerr's series of picture and board-books devoted to Mog, a plump kitty who, although not the brightest, has a loving heart, eventually grew to include sixteen titles. Mog's Bad Thing is the fifteenth, and like some of its predecessors, it deals with a common feline-human problem in an entertaining and heartwarming way. Anyone who has had cats has probably had to deal with the occasional (or not so occasional) 'accident,' and this story is a helpful reminder that such occurrences are not done out of malice, and should not be handled with anger. Mog doesn't really understand why Mr. Thomas is shouting at her, but she does feel sad and frightened. The conclusion, although unlikely - although no more unlikely than many of the things that happen to this kitty - leaves Mog and the Thomases happy. Recommended to anyone who has read and enjoyed other tales about Mog, and to children who enjoy stories about cats. ( )

An interloping marquee plays havoc with Mog's toiletary arrangements, but the inimitable cat comes good in the end. ( )