A late-night hunt for berries led Olaf into an unusual scene — a witch casting a spell on an amused baby clad only in a diaper. The baby’s laughter had attracted him. Mabel Blackthornudder had kidnapped the NYPD Chief Detector's baby as a bargaining chip to stop his recent witch hunt. When Mabel and her incompetent husband Harvey snuck into the woods that night, their goal was to make a video of Mabel terrifying the baby with spells. They hadn’t imagined meeting a black bear, so when they saw Olaf, they abandoned the baby and fled on their broomstick, more terrified than the baby had been all night. Olaf’s concern for the baby would not let him leave her alone in the woods, so he took her to his cave where his friend Essex, a curious red fox, helped him decide what to do. This decision takes the characters on the journey of a lifetime in Olaf and Essex by Patti Calkosz.

Olaf and Essex portrays friendship, love, hate, power, and life in the animal kingdom. I found it refreshingly unique. This is partly because it combines a contemporary setting and fantasy storyline but mostly because the narrative unfolded largely from the animals’ perspectives. I now realize how threatening life is for tiny animals, always on the watch for endless predators or getting stepped on by a heavy creature. The animal kingdom is rough. This story unfolded from multiple perspectives, which allowed me to understand each character’s motivation and added to the thrill of the narrative. The rich characterization of this story is worth dwelling on. The story features good and bad witches, animals and trees, aloof humans, and the Everything. Olaf and Essex by Patti Calkosz is a lengthy read, but it was worth every minute of my time, and I highly recommend it.

Olaf and Essex by Patti Calkosz takes place in a New York City where witches live amongst humans and a pair devise a plan of revenge against the Conflict Resolution Department. Mabel and her husband are tired of witches being scapegoats for every problem so they decide to kidnap the Chief Magic Detector’s baby. Their plan to ransom the baby to end the Magic Detection Unit is derailed when they encounter a bear in the woods. Unbeknownst to them, the bear named Olaf rescues the baby and with the help of his best friend, a fox named Essex, he vows to return her to her parents. However, they are unaware that the two witches they are searching for are not her parents. Meanwhile, Mabel makes an unfortunate discovery about the baby and now sees a chance to have more power than she’s ever imagined.

The setting is an alternate world where the biggest change is that witches live among us. This is subtly integrated into normal situations such as a witch trying on a witch’s hat at a store and flying brooms as modes of transportation. The characters reflect this tone primarily through Olaf and Essex but through their various allies which include a tree that enjoys Shakespeare. Most of the story follows Olaf and Essex with the help of a cat friend trying to return the baby, which leads to several humorous and heartwarming moments. The animals share moments where they wonder why humans are cruel to them, which is a subtle kickstart to conversations about the treatment of animals. It is clear enough to show children of all ages how animals should be treated by allowing them to empathize and bond with the animal characters. Patti Calkosz derives most of the humor from Essex and Olaf’s bickering over how to take care of the baby. There’s a genuine desire in the animals to provide for this human baby which creates a bond between them and gives the story heart. Illustrations are woven throughout that show different key moments and characters. Olaf and Essex is a delightful story for older children with characters that can teach them empathy for animals, humorous moments that can make them laugh, and heartfelt moments that will leave a positive impact.

Olaf and Essex by Patti Calkosz starts with two blundering kidnappers unintentionally scared off by a berry-scavenging bear named Olaf in Central Park one evening. They left in a panic, abandoning the baby they kidnapped. Initially, they had snatched the magical infant to use as leverage to get its father—the Chief Magic Detector for the NYPD—to cease hounding their community and release wrongfully imprisoned witches. Olaf then takes the baby, whom he calls “Football,” to his smart best friend, a fox called Essex. They decide to return the baby after tracking the snatchers whom they'd mistaken for the child’s parents. But when they saw the female kidnapper turn her husband into a frog, they decided to care for the baby and keep it safe with the help of their friends and other good witches. They eventually made the difficult choice of giving Football to her real mother when they found out who she was. But is this truly the right decision, or is there another sinister trick or vile circumstance that awaits? Will Football’s father accept her true nature or continue his quest to eliminate the misunderstood witches?

The setting and characters create an original, interesting, and humorously unusual story. Expect drama in their backgrounds and how they all got together as partners as Patti Calkosz uses unforgettable and wacky descriptions of her creatures. She gives the players memorable personality quirks and behavior that entertain with a character-driven plot using uncomplicated prose. The pacing is from moderate to fast. Be prepared for surprising twists and hilarious bad karma-like events. The narrative employs themes of kinship, friendship, teamwork, compassion, and pure, unadulterated love. Also notable are the fascinating illustrations by Xiao and the cover and interior design and formatting by Jennifer Kyte that completely engage the reader in the author’s storytelling. Olaf and Essex is a modern-day fable especially targeted at middle-school to young adult readers that promises not to disappoint with its mix of both zany and insightful moments and morals.

“Eye of newt and toe of frog . . .” Enjoy this addition to newfound epics and read the tale of Olaf and Essex! In Olaf and Essex by Patti Calkosz, Olaf the bear and Essex the fox rescue a baby from kidnappers Mabel and Harvey, witches with less than admirable integrity. Olaf and Essex have each experienced loss in their lives and feel a compelling need to protect the baby. With the help of their animal friends, witch sisters Hilda and Helga, and a bored teenager, Olaf and Essex keep the child out of harm's way. But when Olaf and Essex decide to search for the baby’s parents, their efforts run amok and boil up a mixture of “double toil and trouble.” Will love win or will evil forces succeed?

Vivid descriptions drop the young reader into New York’s Central Park where the action is up close and personal. Patti Calkosz introduces the reader to a host of memorable characters in Olaf and Essex. Convincing backstories for both Olaf the bear and Essex the fox will have readers reaching for tissues. Olaf’s tendency to get human expressions wrong adds humor to the story and manifests his innocence. Essex, on the other hand, never fails to display her wisdom. The villains serve to provide tension and keep the pages turning. Calkosz cleverly introduces unfamiliar readers to Shakespeare’s works by weaving in amusing parodies. Just as clever are the life lessons that seem to be stealthily placed throughout the book. Pick up a copy of Olaf and Essex. It’s spellbinding!