Joyce, William. Ollie's Odyssey. 2016. 176pp. $17,99 hc. Atheneum (Simon & Schuster). 9781441473577.
Ollie's Odyssey is a creative fantasy story about Ollie, a stuffed toy and Billy his owner. Billy has made Ollie is favorite which is the highest honor in the toy world, but also put Ollie in danger from Zozo, the clown king and his army of creeps. When Ollie is kidnapped by the creeps and taken to Zozo in the old Carnival Place, Billy goes on an adventure to rescue his favorite toy. The story has a good pace and interesting characters that bring emotion and depth to the story. However, I was sometimes frustrated by the changing of the 'rules' of this fantasy story. For example, the toys can talk to each other when people are not around, but Billy (a person) can talk to all of the toys, why? Why can Zozo not move at the beginning of the story but by the end he can? These small inconsistencies along with others broke the magic of what is otherwise a good story. Mostly for that reason I would only partially recommend this book and not whole heatedly. Grades 2-6. ADDITIONAL SELECTION. Michelle Bridges, Sugar Creek Elementary School. Fort Mill, South Carolina.