OLAF AND ESSEX

Two best friends—a bear and a fox—protect a human baby from a diabolical magic-wielding witch in Calkosz’s debut middle-grade fantasy novel.

Olaf, a warmhearted black bear, comes across two human adults with an infant in Central Park, where he lives. It’s late at night, and Olaf inadvertently scares away the couple; in their panic, they leave the baby behind and fly off on a broomstick. Yes, Mabel Blackthornudder and her husband, Harvey, are witches, a group New York authorities seemingly discriminate against and whose members are thrown in jails. That’s why Mabel actually kidnapped the baby in question from the Chief Magic Detector—to coerce him into releasing incarcerated witches. Meanwhile, Olaf takes the baby to his shrewd red-fox best friend, Essex; she knows more about humans than he does and thinks they should at least try to track down the parents in the human-packed city. But when they realize there’s something wrong with those “parents,” the friends take it upon themselves to care for Football (they name the baby after the careful way Olaf holds her). They seek help from the Hagglebottoms, two witch sisters with conflicting temperaments. Mabel is determined to snatch the baby again, since during the initial abduction she learned Football was a powerful “magic-competent.” The furry friends struggle to shield the little girl from this nefarious witch. But they can’t keep Football forever—or can they? Olaf, whose mother died when he was a cub, wants to raise the human girl, while Essex only sees the potential hardships they’d all face.

Calkosz delivers an entertaining and emotional story. The friends have suffered losses; Essex’s mate is gone, and her kits are off on their own, and Olaf misses both his mom and a kind caretaker he’d known when he was at the zoo. This novel tackles a host of social concerns, such as non-magical people’s prejudice against witches, leading the Hagglebottoms to avoid stereotypical “pointy hats” just so they won’t stand out. Similarly, the Conflict Resolution Professionals, New York’s “supposedly reformed police force,” have clearly done nothing to change the public’s sour opinions about law enforcement. The book has plenty of feel-good moments as well, many coming from the fiercely loyal titular pals. Olaf is a softie who occasionally mixes up human words and expressions (such as leavesdropping), and Essex picks up a lot from TV shows she watches through windows (she laments having to miss her nightly viewing). Animal-related humor brightens the story, including jokes such as Essex wanting to find Football’s real parents “as soon as animally possible.” The author’s wisely simple narrative features a cast of relatively few animals and witches, all within New York City. While Mabel and the CRPs are genuine threats, other characters support Olaf and Essex, like the Hagglebottoms (even the “Mean One” isn’t all that mean) and Baby, an abandoned white cat whose obvious affection for Football belies her general grumpiness. Calkosz’s story definitely tugs at the heartstrings before it ends with a memorable denouement.

This funny, sentimental, and heartfelt tale highlights the importance of family, multi-species or otherwise.