Olga: Out of Control!

Olga: Out of Control! is the third installment in a stylish series about the adventures of an aspiring scientist and her unusual animal companion. Meh is an Olgamus, a small, round, pink, furry creature who eats olives and says “meh.” Before Meh came into her life, Olga was a loner, but, through Meh, she learned how to trust other people and make human friends. When the book begins, Meh has just become a mom to a litter of seven rambunctious babies. In order to keep the chaos in check, Olga enlists the help of her friends — a few kids, a librarian, and a local store owner. Olga’s days are spent cleaning up after the Olgamuses, helping to feed them, and making important scientific observations in her notebook.

The Olga books are all about aesthetics. The artistic style is fabulous —simple but quirky — which creates an appealing tone. The colour scheme is black, white, pink and red, which is both eye-catching and distinctive (I found the style a little reminiscent of the French “Barbapapa” series by Annette Tison and Talus Taylor). Along with short bits of texts and cartoon-style dialogue, there are lists of observations, diagrams, and other humorous illustrations. The book looks terrific, and the visual format is used to excellent effect to create the playful, irreverent mood and to capture the essence of the characters. Olga is a hoot, a smart and committed adherent of the scientific method and a self-proclaimed grump. This funny, idiosyncratic heroine is the other main draw of the Olga books.

Meh and the Olgapuses are undeniably cute. From their olive eating to their funny vocalizations to their rambunctiousness, they are strange and lovable. The creatures draw readers into this world to educate kids about the wide variety of species that exist and everything that can be learned from the natural world. The fantastical elements of the book (the Olgamuses, themselves, and the fact that Olga is a small child who lives alone with no family) are not explained, although perhaps they are touched on in the first books. I prefer to imagine that Gravel eschews realism, and I regarded Olga as a more responsible, modern-day Pippi Longstocking.

Although I hope they were unintended, there are a few slightly disquieting themes that emerge,. The story suggests that girls think babies are cute and can’t wait to take care of them. Olga : Out of Control! could actually be seen as a manual on how to look after kids, which I don’t think is the ideal message to send to young girls, who are the main audience for this series. It is positive to encourage kindness and nurturing behaviour, but when the girls coo over the babies, it is framed more as maternal instinct than a universal love of cute animals. This seems out of character for Olga who is thoughtful, unconventional and strong-willed. The more disturbing suggestion of the book is that animals can’t do a proper job of looking after themselves or their offspring and that humans must step in to do so. Olga is the only one who notices that one of the babies, Mu, is not getting enough nourishment. She learns about runts and starts feeding Mu herself. It is strongly implied that, without Olga’s intervention, Mu might not make it, which seems like a bad lesson. I can’t imagine that this was Gravel’s intention, but this perspective is certainly in the text. This could open an avenue for lively discussion about human intervention in breeding animals, keeping pets, operating zoos, and research into genetic engineering of animals.

Plot is not the strong suit of this book, although it may be more effective in the previous two books in the series. Readers quickly learn that Olga discovered this new species and learned how to love and how to get along with other people because she needed their help. So there was quite a lot of character development that occurred before Olga: Out of Control!. Olga has already embraced that assistance and has come to enjoy and rely on her friends by the time this story opens, and so there isn’t too much more that actually happens here. It’s really about the striking drawings, funny graphs and comic scenarios, and those are strong enough to recommend this book.