CBC Archives

You must sign in to leave a comment on this clip.

'The Secret World of Og', 30 years later

Broadcast Date: Nov. 28, 1991

Beneath a trapdoor in the clubhouse of Penny, Pamela, Peter, Patsy, and the Pollywog (baby Paul) lies Og, a fantastical place of caverns and rivers inhabited by green-skinned Ogs. Written by Pierre Berton in 1961 and illustrated by his daughter Patsy 13 years later, The Secret World of Og has become a beloved classic of Canadian children's literature. Thirty years after Pierre penned those pages, his progeny Patsy appears on CBC-TV's Front Page Challenge to celebrate the book's 30th anniversary reprinting.

'The Secret World of Og', 30 years later

• Pierre Berton always maintained that of all the dozens of his books, The Secret World of Og was his favourite. Many young readers agreed: "I get more mail about this book than any other, most of it from young children," Berton wrote in his autobiography My Times. One such letter, from a seven-year-old boy, read: "Dear Mr. Berton: You are a real good writer. The Secret World of Og is the best book I've ever read in my whole life."

• When it was first released in 1961, the book had illustrations by William Winter, a regular contributor to Maclean's magazine. In 1974 a new edition of the book was re-released with illustrations by Patsy Berton, who was barely out of her teens at the time.

• As of 2009 the book had been adapted into an animated CBC-TV children's series and a live musical staged by Vancouver's Carousel Theatre.

'The Secret World of Og', 30 years later

Medium: Television

Program: Front Page Challenge

Broadcast Date: Nov. 28, 1991

Guest(s): Patsy Berton

Host: Fred Davis
Panellist: Pierre Berton, Allan Fotheringham, Betty Kennedy, Jack Webster

Duration: 6:03

The Secret World of Og. Written by Pierre Berton. Illustrated by Patsy Berton. Doubleday Canada.

Last updated:
April 28, 2009