Mookie

Mookie is a happy Antillean-Surinamese boy of nine who wants to be a secret agent someday, and in his imagination he already is. During a lesson on telling time in school, he ponders his day. "I get up at eight… then… the bus picks me up at 8:15… then… then I'm at work at 9… and at 9 a.m. we get the crook… yes." When he isn't busy catching crooks, he plays with other kids on the playground near his house. But sometimes he's not well: Mookie has sickle cell anemia, a chronic disease that can leave him tired and sore. Once, he was so sick that he almost didn't wake up. That time, he had a dream that he has never shared with anyone. With his disarming personality, Mookie invites us into his world, where things are as they are and nothing is too terrible. Where playing is more important than talking, and death is no reason for crying.