Olaf, a bear hiding out in New York’s Central Park, interrupts the kidnapping of a small baby and rescues the victim. He brings the child home to the hidden cave that he shares with Essex the fox and Baby the ex-pet cat, who hates all humans. Unknown to the trio, the kidnappers are witches and the baby is the daughter of a powerful police official. The animals are soon drawn into a clash between the magic competent and the Conflict Resolution Professionals (CRPs) determined to stamp them out. As the three friends try to become suitable caretakers, there’s something about their young charge that even her real parents haven’t guessed. While it may seem like the right decision to return the girl to her home, doing so could put their entire world at risk.
It’s not often that a children’s book with such soft corners reveals so many layers. With its sharp humor and liberal references to Shakespeare, Patti Calkosz’s OLAF AND ESSEX is a heartfelt, whimsical book that will entertain children and adults alike. Set within a world that’s familiar and completely alien at the same time, this story tackles such heavy topics as abandonment, discrimination, animal cruelty, authoritarianism, and death with sensitivity and kindness. Every character in OLAF AND ESSEX, even those who only get a few paragraphs, is unique and well-rounded with amusing quirks, and they all step onto a stage that has been well-prepared to receive them. The different kinds of relationships (friendship between polar opposites, disagreements between married couples, and the wrangling between siblings) provide an excellent background to the action.
Patti Calkosz expertly lays out most of her plot as one might set up a board game. She uses short chapters to make the disparate storylines dance around each other—building tension in all the right places. This dance goes on so smoothly for most of the book that the sudden deviation near the end feels very jarring. It seems as though the writer cannot figure out how all the loose ends should be tied up. The final few pages feel rushed and silly in a way that even children will see through immediately. The author may have missed an excellent opportunity for a delicious cliffhanger that could have set this story up for a sequel, but the book is still very enjoyable nonetheless.
A tender, layered fable set in a world where a baby’s laughter is magic and trees give advice, OLAF AND ESSEX by Patti Calkosz is a beautifully warm and heartfelt story that will stay with readers long after they finish it.
~Sakina Hassan for IndieReader