Mog the cat becomes progressively more jealous of Owl in this thirteenth entry in the Meg and Mog series, observing the wonderful lunches - beetle burgers, vole roles, hot frogs - that Meg prepares for him. When he demands a lunch box of his own, Meg's spell - "Pat of butter / Eye of fly / It may not work / But it's worth a try" - produces one that contains, not a juicy treat, but a growing caterpillar. Mog and Owl both observe as Meg searches for food for this new friend, who eventually creates a cocoon for himself, and emerges as a butterfly.

With the same simple text and brightly colored illustrations that have distinguished previous entries in the series, Mog's Box will provide an entertaining picture-book experience to young children. I found the scenes in which Mog becomes jealous - his expression becomes ever more hostile in each panel, from Tuesday to Friday, as he sees the lunches prepared for Owl - particularly droll, and his subsequent burst of frenetic rage quite hilarious. Readers familiar with the series will enjoy seeing the feline/strigine rivalry, hinted at in teasing comments back and forth between Mog and Owl in previous titles, expanded here. The development of the story itself, which shifts focus from Mog and Owl to the caterpillar, is a little less humorous, although still engaging. The two-page spread in which the caterpillar munches his way through a series of leaves is reminiscent of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. All in all, this was an amusing addition to a classic series. ( )