Olly Owl Fairy Tale Lawyer
Across the six interconnected, amusing short stories of Olly Owl, Fairy Tale Lawyer, justice is sought for fairy-tale beings in both civil and criminal courts.
In Leisa Braband’s merry children’s book Olly Owl, Fairy Tale Lawyer, creatures from myths take their grievances to a judge with the help of a wise owl.
Olly Owl is the lawyer to the residents of Fairy Tale Land. He takes on the legal troubles that the nursery-rhyme residents encounter with compassion, yearning for justice, whether for the meek egg sons of Humpty Dumpty or the vicious widow of the Big Bad Wolf. Across six interconnected short stories, Olly Owl seeks justice for such fairy-tale creatures in both civil and criminal courts. When some get overdue justice, as when Goldilocks goes on trial for breaking and entering the home of the three bears, nostalgic sentiments surge.
Because the stories are structured in a formulaic way, though, their turns become repetitive, even predictable, regardless of whether Olly wins or loses each case. He listens to his clients, researches by having conversations with witnesses, then takes each case to trial, where a judge hears testimonies and rules either way. The stories that subvert this formula, settling without having to go to court, are more surprising.
Bold wit is a signature of the prose. Sly references to fairy tales intertwine with clever puns, as when “Olly Owl knew when his goose was cooked. He just wished the goose in this case was the Golden Goose sitting across the aisle,” or when the likelihood of winning a case makes Olly “happy (the emotion, not the dwarf).” The humor often parallels the fairy tales themselves, as when Goldilocks’s sentence is not too harsh or too soft but just right. That Bailiff Jack is a different Jack in every story (of the beanstalk, a jack-o’-lantern, and a jackrabbit) is amusing too.
Playing with adult themes, including murder, labor rights, life insurance, and wrongful death as a result of negligence, the book sometimes skips past its audience, though. Its use of financial jargon and legalese further inhibits it, as when Olly Owl asks of the seven dwarfs, “In conjunction with your wills, I will need Snow White’s current address and social security number as well as a complete list of your assets, including checking and saving account numbers, etc. Do you own your house outright, or is there a mortgage?” And Baby Bear adds problematic elements: He’s “growing up and noticing girls,” and he calls Goldilocks “kind of a babe,” though she is depicted as “six or seven” years old. Little Red Riding Hood’s abrupt act of violence is also startling.
Olly Owl, Fairy Tale Lawyer is an inventive short story collection in which an owl seeks justice for beings from fairy tales.
Reviewed by
Aimee Jodoin
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
