GOODBYE MOG

Kerr seemingly caps her bestselling series of books about an affable family pet with this simultaneously sad and soothing story. "I want to sleep forever," thinks the "dead-tired" Mog: "And so she did. But a little bit of her stayed awake to see what would happen next." As a faint apparition of the cat hovers overhead, the Thomas family mourns the passing of their beloved feline. She looks on curiously and occasionally disapprovingly when Mrs. Thomas brings home a new kitten that appears to be afraid of everything. Mistakenly thinking their new pet has escaped outdoors, the Thomases search for it while Mog heads inside ("I knew they'd never manage without me. They've got themselves the wrong sort of stupid kitten and now they've lost it. I'm going in"). Mog, thrilled that the kitten can apparently see her, reverses her opinion about the young feline's intelligence and gives it the "help" it needs to become less timid and more playful—and to endear itself to its new family. Kerr's appealing story entirely avoids the maudlin with its fine balance of humor and sentiment. Her winsome art captures the sincerity and spunk of the memorable—and, perchance, immortal—Mog. Ages 4-7. (Mar.)