Olga da Polga is a fictional

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus '' Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ...

, who is the

heroine A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...

of a series of books for children written by

Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was a British author. He is best known for a series of fictional stories for children, featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million Paddington books have been sold ...

and published between 1971 and 2002. Unlike Bond's more famous character,

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...

, Olga is a teller of

tall tales A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some tall tales are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories ("the fish that got away") such as, "That fish was so big, why I tell ya', it n ...

in the style of

Baron Munchausen Baron Munchausen (; ) is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book ''Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia''. The character is loosely based on a real ...

. The typical plot of each story is that something fairly ordinary happens to Olga, and she gives her animal friends a wildly exaggerated version of events, subsequently revealed to be untrue by what the humans say. Bond's books were memorably illustrated by Danish artist Hans Helweg, who was also well known for his "pulp fiction" covers for Pan paperbacks. His illustrations are still strongly associated with Olga, although later editions have used different imagery including artwork by

Catherine Rayner Catherine Rayner is an Edinburgh-based British illustrator and writer of children's books. She was born in Harrogate in 1982, and grew up in Boston Spa, later studying at Leeds College of Art and Edinburgh College of Art. She won the Kate Gre ...

for Usborne. Olga was named after the Bond family's real guinea pig: in 2014, '' Guardian'' journalist Michelle Pauli met Olga number six. In 2022, the BBC commissioned 13 episodes of a live-action TV series of Olga da Polga for

CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel CBBC is aimed at older childr ...

, featuring Julie Wilson Nimmo and

Greg Hemphill Gregory Edward Hemphill (born 14 December 1969) is a Scottish-Canadian comedian, actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his work with Ford Kiernan on the BBC Scotland comedy series ''Chewin' The Fat'' (1999–2005) and ''Still Game'' ...

Television series

In 2022, the BBC commissioned 13 episodes of a live-action TV series of Olga da Polga for

, featuring Julie Wilson Nimmo and

Books

Chapter books

*1971 ''The Tales of Olga da Polga'' *1973 ''Olga Meets Her Match'' *1976 ''Olga Carries On'' *1982 ''Olga Takes Charge'' *1987 ''The Complete Adventures of Olga Da Polga'' (omnibus) *1993 ''The Adventures of Olga Da Polga'' (omnibus) *2001 ''Olga Moves House'' *2002 ''Olga Follows Her Nose'' *2002 ''The Best of Olga Da Polga'' (omnibus)

Picture books

*1975 ''Olga Counts Her Blessings'' *1975 ''Olga Makes a Friend'' *1975 ''Olga Makes a Wish'' *1975 ''Olga Makes Her Mark'' *1975 ''Olga Takes a Bite'' *1975 ''Olga's New Home'' *1975 ''Olga's Second House'' *1975 ''Olga's Special Day'' *1983 ''The First Big Olga da Polga Book'' (omnibus) *1983 ''The Second Big Olga da Polga Book'' (omnibus)

Characters

* Olga – the protagonist of the stories. * Karen Sawdust – Olga's owner and caretaker. As a child, she seems to understand Olga better than her parents. * Mrs. Sawdust – Karen's mother. * Mr. Sawdust – Karen's father. Built Olga's home. * Noel – Karen's pet black cat. He is sly and knowledgeable in the ways of the world, as he is free to enter and leave the house as he pleases. Although he claims to not believe most of Olga's tales, he still listens to them often. * Graham – a tortoise. Dislikes being picked up and set down upside down. He's very slow, but often has a unique way of viewing the world. * Fangio – a hedgehog with Argentine blood. He often stays in a box in the Sawdust's garage, and enjoys a meal of bread soaked in milk. He often goes to the Elysian Fields (a patch of waste land beyond the shrubbery). * Boris – Olga's boyfriend. He lives by the seaside, and is also the father of Olga's children. He watches too much TV, but this makes him a very good storyteller. He rivals Olga in the storytelling department. * Fircone and Raisin – two hamsters that Karen buys later. Although Olga is initially jealous of them, as they are kept in Karen's room and seem to be her favourites, she quickly warms up to them. They bite Noel when he tries to sneak up on them, which earns Olga's respect, as she admires them for standing up to Noel, small as they are. * Venables – a toad who lives in a pond in the Sawdust family's garden.

References