The following is from Barbara McIntyre , Special to USA TODAY NETWORK – Ohio, in the Akron Beacon Journal
April 28th, 2024 | Article here >
‘Olly & the Spores’
Conservation and nature are themes in an inventive middle-grade series by Brunswick resident Glenn Somodi about a boy who finds magical creatures.
In Book One, “Olly & the Spores of Oak Hill,” a Medina family moves to Massachusetts after the patriarch, an eccentric former Harvard professor, is killed in a hit-and-run incident. Poppy had lost his position when he started talking about the woodland creatures he had befriended, and had started making clothes made of grapevines and pine cones.
Poppy’s will included a map and key for his teen grandson Olly, and a wish that Olly take care of Poppy’s “special garden.” Olly, a self-described “nature geek,” has an avid interest in plants and botany, and he’s not well liked in his Medina school, so he’s fine with the move.
A new school comes with new bullies, and Olly and his new friend Ember are being chased in the woods by the rough kids when they hear a small voice “Look for the door,” it says. They see a symbol in a rock wall, touch it, and find themselves among the colony of the spores, the friendly anthropomorphic mushrooms from Poppy’s description.
With the help of the Spores, Olly and Em foil the attempts of the devious robber baron to seize Poppy’s land.
The conservation theme continues in Book Two, “Olly & the Spores of Sapphire Creek.” Olly and Em bring their parents in on the secret of the Spores. They have learned that Poppy had been sending mysterious packages from Littleton, Massachusetts, to Littleton, Colorado, and receiving packages in return.
The Colorado address is that of a friend who maintains a Spore outpost, and the goal is to establish other communities elsewhere. There’s been some toxic waste dumping near an old mine Poppy owned and the Massachusetts contingent heads West to investigate.
A highlight of the series is the affectionate and supportive relationship between Ollie and Em.
“Olly & the Spores of Oak Hill” (273 pages) and “Olly & the Spores of Sapphire Creek” (238 pages) cost $12.95 in softcover from online retailers.