Life Without Mooch is one of four new Formac books, each about characters familiar to readers of the series called First Novels: Maddie (Maddie Wants New Clothes), Marilou (Marilou’s Long Nose), Fred (Fred’s Midnight Prowler), and in this title, Carl and his beloved late great Mooch.

Although many books in this lively series for fledgling readers are determinedly zany (Fred, for example, finds out that his cat is hatching orphaned eggs for a gypsy hen dancer), Gauthier takes on more straightforwardly realistic material. While Carl comes to terms with the loss of his old dog by writing a memoir of her skunk-defying adventures, he must also face a threat to the life he and his mother share. (Like many kids in the series, Carl lives in a single-parent household.) Discovering a male neighbour’s sock under the sofa, Carl confronts his mother with his suspicions that she and the friendly neighbour have been “chatting” – barefoot! Without being earnestly moralistic, the book’s conclusion is satisfying: being honest and forthright about your feelings helps a lot in accepting loss and change. Carl even begins warming up to another dog – Dumpling could never replace Mooch, but he has much more going for him than Carl first admitted.

Originally published in French, Life Without Mooch is fluidly translated by Sarah Cummins. Funny and well-paced, it challenges with words like “intrigued” and “reaction,” and elements like Carl’s dreams and creative writing. Pierre-André Derome’s witty illustrations neatly capture the tone. Three previous Mooch books were selected for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Our Choice list, and this one lives up to its predecessors. It also stands on its own as a great introduction to the wonderful world of novels.