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mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
3.0
Formatted as an observation notebook Olga, the budding zoologist, is keeping this book to document all the animal knowledge she accumulates. Out of nowhere she finds Meh - a new species.
The rest of the book is basically just her taking notes on him. There is a minor story point running underneath about Olga thinking that humans aren't as good as animals mostly because she doesn't have any friends and is trying to hide that she's hurt about that. Meh helps her see the light in an unexpected way. There are fun drawings and graphics accompanying the writing to add some whimsy throughout.
There is a nonzero amount of internalized misogyny. Two of the girls in her neighborhood - nicknamed the LaLas by Olga - have been mean to Olga for years. But, Olga doesn't just take issue with the mistreatment she thinks she's better than them since she's not into 'silly' things like makeup, boys and magazines.
Many girls have this phase because our cultural demonizes girlhood so I wasn't especially bothered by it. Elise Gravel never gave the impression that it was good to be this way. Olga even expresses embarrassment at the idea that in reading her observations you might perceive the interest in the magazines she has taken pains to hide. This tells me that Olga is not meant to be some harmful girl power fantasy that is praised for eschewing all femininity in order to be taken seriously. She's just a kid working through a (unfortunately) normal stage in development.
In the end the girls have a kind of understanding that implies Olga recognizes she's been narrow minded so I have faith in her yet.
I think it's right in that sweet spot where a girl reading this would feel seen as the 'weird' kid like Olga, but could pick up on the message that people are multi-faceted even if it's only subconsciously. Discovering femininity is not the enemy is a years long process. Books like this are a good way to subtly kickstart the dismantlement.
Personally, I think it added some realism. Still, I wanted to point it out because it is noticeable.
I picked it up because I'm reading the top reads for Florida per grade level according to the Renaissance AR List. It's cute, it's grade level appropriate, and for an adult it's a quick read.
The rest of the book is basically just her taking notes on him. There is a minor story point running underneath about Olga thinking that humans aren't as good as animals mostly because she doesn't have any friends and is trying to hide that she's hurt about that. Meh helps her see the light in an unexpected way. There are fun drawings and graphics accompanying the writing to add some whimsy throughout.
There is a nonzero amount of internalized misogyny. Two of the girls in her neighborhood - nicknamed the LaLas by Olga - have been mean to Olga for years. But, Olga doesn't just take issue with the mistreatment she thinks she's better than them since she's not into 'silly' things like makeup, boys and magazines.
Many girls have this phase because our cultural demonizes girlhood so I wasn't especially bothered by it. Elise Gravel never gave the impression that it was good to be this way. Olga even expresses embarrassment at the idea that in reading her observations you might perceive the interest in the magazines she has taken pains to hide. This tells me that Olga is not meant to be some harmful girl power fantasy that is praised for eschewing all femininity in order to be taken seriously. She's just a kid working through a (unfortunately) normal stage in development.
In the end the girls have a kind of understanding that implies Olga recognizes she's been narrow minded so I have faith in her yet.
I think it's right in that sweet spot where a girl reading this would feel seen as the 'weird' kid like Olga, but could pick up on the message that people are multi-faceted even if it's only subconsciously. Discovering femininity is not the enemy is a years long process. Books like this are a good way to subtly kickstart the dismantlement.
Personally, I think it added some realism. Still, I wanted to point it out because it is noticeable.
I picked it up because I'm reading the top reads for Florida per grade level according to the Renaissance AR List. It's cute, it's grade level appropriate, and for an adult it's a quick read.
bibliovolubile's review against another edition
5.0
Dans le monde, selon Olga, rien n'est jamais aussi fascinant que l'improbable... Et si, au fond, il suffisait d'y croire pour que ça devienne possible?...
Pour lire le billet que j'ai écrit au sujet de ce livre, sur lililesmerveilles.com, c'est par ici!
http://www.lililesmerveilles.com/2017/03/olga-and-smelly-thing-from-nowhere.html
[To read my lililesmerveilles.com's blog post about this book, follow the above link - post is in french]
Pour lire le billet que j'ai écrit au sujet de ce livre, sur lililesmerveilles.com, c'est par ici!
http://www.lililesmerveilles.com/2017/03/olga-and-smelly-thing-from-nowhere.html
[To read my lililesmerveilles.com's blog post about this book, follow the above link - post is in french]
literallykalasin's review against another edition
3.0
Elise Gravel is obviously Olga. How do I know this, you ask?
Observation:
Elise has written many books about traditionally not-cute critters like [b:The Slug|18811413|The Slug|Elise Gravel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390180802s/18811413.jpg|26746421] and [b:The Rat|18811414|The Rat|Elise Gravel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390175179s/18811414.jpg|30827730]. Olga loves not-cute critters more than people who she thinks are weird.
When Olga finds a very smelly and very odd creature that she can't identify, she absolutely takes it under her wing like any sensible, science-minded, pets-over-people person would do.
I bought this for my middle school library specifically for the kids who are reading below grade level, because as you're reading this book, you can't help but feel like, "Wow, look how much I'm reading!" when really it's all just pictures. Charming pictures, granted.
Observation:
Elise has written many books about traditionally not-cute critters like [b:The Slug|18811413|The Slug|Elise Gravel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390180802s/18811413.jpg|26746421] and [b:The Rat|18811414|The Rat|Elise Gravel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390175179s/18811414.jpg|30827730]. Olga loves not-cute critters more than people who she thinks are weird.
When Olga finds a very smelly and very odd creature that she can't identify, she absolutely takes it under her wing like any sensible, science-minded, pets-over-people person would do.
I bought this for my middle school library specifically for the kids who are reading below grade level, because as you're reading this book, you can't help but feel like, "Wow, look how much I'm reading!" when really it's all just pictures. Charming pictures, granted.
kittymamers's review against another edition
3.0
päris nunnu lastekas lapsele, kes inglise keeles väga pikki tekste ei loe, aga üldiselt ikkagi loeb - palju pilte ja pool juttu räägitakse ära jutumullides ja pildiallkirjades jne, päris koomiks samas ei ole. üsna omamoodi peategelane, veidi kehvade sotsiaalsete oskustega nohik-tüdruk, kes raamatu lõpuks siiski sõpru leiab. täiskasvanud tegelased (raamatukoguhoidja ja nurgapoe omanik) on ka omamoodi. rääkimata siis tähtsamatest loomtegelastest, kellest üks on põiepidamatusega koer ja teine täitsa tundmatust liigist (v hea, saab läbi viia teaduslikke uuringuid). kokkuvõttes - mulle täitsa meeldis.
sasha_in_a_box's review against another edition
5.0
Read this one with Joy (10). She loved it as much as I did. Took us maybe 4 days of bedtime stories - a quick one!
It's just so much fun. It's kooky, sweet, filled with random animal facts - mostly about animal poop and dog types - and even lowkey teaches kids about the scientific method. How awesome is that? I read it twice in a span of 2 weeks and loved it more each time.
I have to acknowledge that there is some internalized misogyny (that does get addressed, mostly) and calling a fake Korean popstar Bip-Bibop seems questionable. Those are the only flaws, though, and we did talk about how it's not ok to make fun of someone just because they like magazines about beauty. You can be annoyed with girls who love pink and ribbons and popstars and talk like a valley girl, but that doesn't make them any less worthy as a human. But like I said, that does get addressed towards the end, and I hope to see more of this growth in the next 2 books.
Big fan!
It's just so much fun. It's kooky, sweet, filled with random animal facts - mostly about animal poop and dog types - and even lowkey teaches kids about the scientific method. How awesome is that? I read it twice in a span of 2 weeks and loved it more each time.
I have to acknowledge that there is some internalized misogyny (that does get addressed, mostly) and calling a fake Korean popstar Bip-Bibop seems questionable. Those are the only flaws, though, and we did talk about how it's not ok to make fun of someone just because they like magazines about beauty. You can be annoyed with girls who love pink and ribbons and popstars and talk like a valley girl, but that doesn't make them any less worthy as a human. But like I said, that does get addressed towards the end, and I hope to see more of this growth in the next 2 books.
Big fan!
kandisebrown's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ifiwasapuppet's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
bookishlyhappy's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. Quirky with a capital Q! I may have chuckled a bit while reading about Olga’s adventures, and I love Gravel’s style and limited color palette. Love.