Mook

There`s great happiness when a little sister is born, but an older child often feels that his or her situation isn`t what it used to be, because all the parents` attention is on the new baby. Tamar Bergman`s book deals with this familiar theme in a refreshing way.

The hero of this story is a dog who feels he’s one of the family. When Mook is just a puppy, he turns up one day in the neighborhood and begins to sniff people`s feet. Oren and Anat, a young couple, begin to pet him and call him Mook. The puppy is delighted and runs after them: he has chosen his home and his new parents. Oren and Anat take good care of him and go out with him for walks, and Mook rewards them with his love. He grows from a pup into a happy dog. Then he begins to notice changes in his adoptive parents, especially in Anat whose stomach gets rounder and rounder. One day Oren and Anat leave the house and return with a sort of creature Mook`s never seen. A baby called Noa has joined the family and Anat pays less attention to him. Oren too gives Noa a lot of his time. Mook is sad and begins to cry in his sleep. Oren and Anat take him to the vet who says Mook is perfectly well. Then one day, Mook disappears. Oren, Anat and Noa are sad and go out to look for him. Three days later, when they`ve almost given up, Mook comes home and they`re all happily reunited.

Did one of the neighbors try to hurt him? Did Mook hide on purpose to see if Oren and Anat cared about him? One way or another, Mook stops crying at night and lets Noa climb on his back and pull his ears. When she gets a little bigger, they become good friends and go for walks together – just him and her.