Ollie on Stage

February 1, 2019
Tall, round-bellied Ollie the ogre's unsuccessful attempts to cultivate a talent lead him to doubt his ability to participate in the local talent show.Rhyming text is accompanied by colorful, cartoonish illustrations that depict a world in which humans, animals, and folkloric creatures appear to live in harmony. The characters' expressive faces anchor the uncertainty and dismay that Ollie's friends experience as they try (and fail) to teach him their respective special skills. It soon appears evident that Ollie's ogreish strength (pun intended) may in fact be his weakness, but an unexpected turn of events demonstrates how everyone in a community has something important to offer. The story itself treads a well-worn path, however, and the generic characters are never fully developed. Readers may be entertained by Ollie's dismal training sessions and later success and fame, yet the origins or relevance of his fervent desire to be onstage at all remain frustratingly unanswered throughout the book. Ollie's face and hands are furless while the rest of his body is covered in a turquoise pelt; while humans of various skin tones occupy this world, the humanoid characters, like Ollie, present white.A slapstick celebration of the process of discovering and honoring what makes us and our friends unique--in a decidedly less-than-unique vehicle. (Picture book. 3-7)

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August 2, 2019

PreS-Gr 2-Ollie the ogre yearns to be in the talent show, despite having never performed before. In a desperate bid to make it on stage, he attempts to emulate the fortes of his friends, but the results are disastrous. Instead of tap-dancing with aplomb like leprechaun Lou, Ollie's heavy stomps crash through the floor. When he tries to sing a duet with Benny the bird, his booming, off-key notes cause eardrums to ring, and his robust ballet moves send Sylvie the fairy flying into the rafters. With his dreams of being in the spotlight dashed, the big blue monster lashes out in frustration. King's cartoon illustrations show Ollie (who has human-looking hands and large ears sprouting hair) throwing his weight around, uprooting trees and tossing boulders, while his friends flee. The rhyming text has lots of enthusiastic exclamation marks and stumbles in spots: "Oh no!" Benny cried. A tree Ollie had tossed/was about to crash down on Ben's head!/ It jerked Ollie back to his senses at last/when he saw his friend cringing in dread." Catching and tossing large objects proves to be Ollie's unique and crowd-pleasing talent. VERDICT A serviceable picture book about knowing your own strengths.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ont.

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