EDUCATIONAL FICTION MADE FUN
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EDUCATIONAL FICTION MADE FUN *
Mooge
The Prehistoric Genius
Written by Nate Wrey, with illustrations by Helen Cochrane.
Children’s Educational Fiction - Learning Made Fun.
Aimed at 7-12 year olds
Available in paperback and eBook
Finalist in the 2022 Wishing Shelf Book Awards
There was a time, long, long ago, when humans had nothing: no tools, fire, clothes, not even a Playstation! Life was hard and short, and beasts were big and hairy. Then along came Mooge to change all that. Did I say he was a genius? Well, let’s just say he had a unique way of helping his wife, Flair, to invent and discover.
Join Mooge and Flair on their journey through prehistory. A fun, rhyming narrative, with superb illustrations, to introduce your children to the key stages of humanity’s rise, from having nothing, to making tools and controlling fire, inventing the wheel and on to the age of writing. Fourteen chapters of mishaps and silliness guarantee laughter, while, with 80% of the words from the National Spelling Curriculum (UK) for years 3 and 4, they learn and develop amid the fun. Also available via this website are supporting learning resources for the classroom.
(No AI was used in writing, illustrating or publishing this book)
Want to hear a sample of Mooge before you buy? Watch or listen to the author read the first two chapters.
Images of the narrator are AI generated (I’m not that old!)
“My son received this book for Christmas and has spent the last month reading it at bedtime. He’s enjoyed the book so much so that today (World Book Day), he decided to dress up as the character Mooge. The book has really encouraged him to read more, and has helped with his vocabulary and reading ability.”
Mooge: The Prehistoric Genius was a finalist in the 9-12 children’s category of the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2022. The judges were children from 8 UK primary schools. Read what some had to say here.
“A wonderfully charming, rhyming story that’s not only stunningly illustrated, but it will make you laugh too! if I was still a teacher, I’d be wanting this book in the school library.”
Winners of a Mooge T-Shirt at the book launch, hosted by Sprites Primary Acadamy, Ipswich - Photo courtesy of Sprites
Mooge huffed and puffed with some regret,
He’d hoped that tools would save on sweat.
But now he knew it wasn’t true.
They just made other work to do.
Students with their copies of Mooge from Mayflower Primary School, Dovercourt, Essex on launch day. Cheesy smile courtesy of the author.
“ A wonderful and humour filled book for middle grade readers. I award Mooge: The Prehistoric Genius 5 stars. ”
Whitburn Academy Library takes stock of its copies of Mooge from illustrator, Helen Cochrane
“A hilarious read written very well in rhymes. It covers a lot of topics and is a perfect book to be used in the classroom.”
“An entertaining rhyming tale with amusing illustrations that could be used as a fictional class read during Stone Age topic.”
“Plato is quoted as saying ‘Necessity is the mother of invention.’ If he had had the privilege and fun of reading ‘Mooge’ by Nate Wrey he may have said ‘Necessity is the wife (Flair) of Mooge’ instead.”
Launch
With young age-group winners at Sprites
Their motto’s ‘Fearless’ not ‘Earless’!
Delighted to have launched Mooge at two schools - The Mayflower Primary School (23 June) (See Harwich and Manningtree Standard article) and the Sprites Primary Academy (24 June) (See article from Ipswich Star). In preparing a children’s book it is essential to call on expert advice from editors, teachers, family and friends, but, ultimately, only one type of expert matters and they are the children your book is aimed at. Last year a class from Mayflower read an early draft of Mooge and fed back honest and constructive comments, helping me understand what kids really like and want and enabling me to polish Mooge into a publishable state (see article from Essex Gazette). It was wonderful to meet all the kids and see their reaction to Mooge and you can read my blog about my experiences.
A Sprites pupil’s appreciation for Mooge. What a lovely response. See more children’s illustrations on the launch blog.
Making Learning Fun
First and foremost, Mooge is designed to be fun and enjoyable. Within the silliness, however, there are lessons, prompting readers to think about the origin of essential things. And if that’s not enough, it has specifically been designed to help with the development of reading.
Recommended reading for 7-12 year olds, containing 80% of the words from the National Spelling Curriculum (UK) for years 3 and 4. Ideal for grandparents to read to younger ones too.
Mooge also comes with a range of additional learning resources, fun activities and puzzles for classroom or home to help children better understand the past and appreciate the present and how things came to be.
Learning Behind the Laughter
Mooge in the doghouse by Helen Cochrane
No one ever said being a genius was going to be easy!
