OSCAR AND OTTO

A troll and a fish realize that they can help instead of harm each other in this Scandinavian-inspired legend.

Oscar the troll, star of Cetas and Kose’s Oscar and the Awful, Horrible Smell (2022), loves to fish. Otto is a fish who plays pranks on anglers, evading all attempts at capture. When Otto arrives at Oscar’s pond, a challenge of wills begins. Otto eats the worms from Oscar’s hook and net, so Oscar tricks Otto with a clear line and hook. “Oscar and Otto both pulled and pulled and pulled.” The line breaks, leaving Oscar frustrated and Otto hurting, with the hook still stuck in his mouth. When Oscar tries ice fishing, unable to wait until spring, the troll falls through the ice—rescued by none other than Otto! Determined to catch the fish to remove the hook, Oscar makes a new plan, this time ending in friendship. The two wily characters, well depicted in both Cetas’ prose and Kose’s gentle cartoon illustrations, will have readers delighted that neither loses in the end. Cetas uses some repeated story beats, building Oscar’s frustration and Otto’s arrogant behavior, and Kose compliments those moments, adding Otto’s peers into the illustrations to show that his lack of humility has not won him many friends. With plenty of repeated words to help young children decipher the vocabulary, this is a good choice for emergent readers.

A charming enemies-to-friends tale with big personalities.