OLLY OWL, FAIRY TALE LAWYER
by Leisa Braband
When residents of Fairy Tale Land want to sue their fellow fictional characters, they turn to Olly Owl, attorney at law, in Braband’s collection of humorous short stories.
The feathered lawyer takes on six civil cases in all. First, the Seven Dwarfs, after developing health problems, sue their mining company employer. The Big Bad Wolf’s widow initially charges the Three Little Pigs with the wrongful death of her husband before realizing that she actually should take it up with the Forest Builders Union. Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus get into a contract dispute when climate change causes Frosty to melt sooner than expected, and the Three Bears ask for reparations from the damage that Goldilocks did to their home. Humpty Dumpty’s heirs want justice from the Town of Fairy Tale Land, citing negligence on the upkeep of the wall from which he fell. The stories are brief, with one overlong exception, in which Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf sue and countersue each other; it also features a somewhat odd plot twist. In a note at the end, Braband says she drew on “several decades working in various legal offices” for these tales, including one that would host mock trials of fictional characters for children of lawyers and staff. The tales are cute and comical throughout, and several feature jokes that are likely to appeal most to a grown-up audience—as when Olly needs Rogaine to regrow some feathers, or when he asks the Seven Dwarfs whether they have a mortgage on their cottage; generally, readers who work in the legal profession will be most amused. However, some tales rely a little too heavily on silly animal noises for effect, and although humor is certainly subjective, these moments seem aimed at a younger audience; for example extra esses appear in snake characters’ dialogue, and Olly sometimes offers hooty replies, such as “I dooo, dooo, your honor”; one single page has the widowed Wolf saying “Grrr...... grrr.....” no fewer than six times.
A bit goofy, overall, but sure to appeal to fellow lawyers.