by Tod Davies, with illustrations by Gary Zaboly ($13)
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“The most audacious and unusual book I have read this year. Framed in a “we found this on our doorstep” ala Spiderwick sort of way, it is ostensibly forwarded to the publisher by a professor from the land of Arcadia. . . . If you are intrigued by how [fairy tales] are manipulated with such ease by pop culture mavens and movie makers . . . you will find the cheekiness of Davies’ story to be wildly appealing.” —COLLEEN MONDOR, Bookslut Summer Reading List
“Awesome . . . There’s plenty of humor in the book. . . . And the best is the truth—what Is, as the book calls it—Snotty discovers about himself. He doesn’t just see the error of his old ways; he re-becomes an entirely different person. And that possibility, that ability—that we all might re-become what we were born to be—raises a wonder, a “sympathy with the idea of ‘changing the world’” that beats louder than does a superficially bleeding heart.”—KRISTIN THIEL, Nervous Breakdown
“A smart, funny, and thought-provoking read for readers of all ages, Snotty Saves the Day has me eagerly awaiting its sequel.” —DAVID GUTOWSKI, Largehearted Boy
Snotty—the unlikely hero of this tale—is a streetwise adolescent mastermind transported to a mystical realm where the fate of the world rests on discovering who he really is. As Snotty’s perceptions of might and right are upended, the footnotes point toward a deeper truth—that in the endless fight against evil, the toughest warriors come from the most despised group of all: the smallest, the poorest, the funniest, the snottiest. A fantastic adventure story, smart political allegory, and philosophical treatise, this is a book to be savored by adults of all ages.
About the Author and Illustrator
TOD DAVIES is the author of Jam Today: A Diary of Cooking With What You’ve Got. Inspired by the work she did with teenagers in England, Snotty Saves the Day is her first book of fiction. Unsurprisingly, her attitude toward literature is the same as her attitude toward cooking—it’s all about working with what you have to find new ways of looking and new ways of being, and in doing so, to rediscover the best of our humanity and work toward a better world. Davies can usually be found in the alpine valley of Colestin, Oregon, surrounded by a mountain forest where this manuscript was discovered, or in Colorado, where her husband Alex teaches.
GARY ZABOLY is the author and illustrator of The Barack Obama Coloring Book (Dover Publications) and many books on American military and frontier history. He lives with his wife Cora in Riverdale, New York, overlooking the Hudson River.
Take a trip down the rabbit hole with Snotty at: http://bit.ly/dGQI1n
- View the fantastic three-part trailer, filmed by Alex Cox & featured in Shelf Awareness:
- Listen to the author discuss the book on KBOO-FM: http://kboo.fm/node/28157
- Read more about the author’s inspiration in the Oregonian: http://bit.ly/hbZtY1
- Check out a playlist for the book at Largehearted Boy: http://bit.ly/fdsAvs
$13 / 208 pages
Trade Paperback Original ISBN: 978-1-935259-07-7 / eBook ISBN: 978-1-935259-09-1
Enhanced eBook ISBN: 978-1-935259-20-6 (with linked footnotes and embedded videos)
And Snotty Saves the Day is now an Audiobook! Narrated by the amazing Colby Elliott of Last Word Audio, it’s the perfect listenable for all your listening needs. Seriously.
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More Praise for Snotty Saves the Day
“Like Susanna Clark’s magnificent Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell . . . and many works by Nicholson Baker, Snotty Saves the Day features fictional footnotes that add another layer to the novel. . . . Davies touches on . . . very Big Ideas. But these themes are wrapped in wonders . . . What could have been simply “messagey” is a romp, and an original one at that. . . . Give it to a smart, precocious young person in your life, read it yourself, and see what kind of interesting conversation develops.”—DEB BAKER, Gibson’s Bookstore (Concord, NH) @ bookconscious
“Fairy tales and Biblical stories come true in this amusing debut mash-up of folklore and Christian allegory. . . . Readers with a fantasy bent will note the traditional fairy tale elements (there are teddy bears and they do picnic), as those with Christian sensibilities will know to pronounce ‘Luc’ with a soft ‘c’. Dressed up with footnotes, scholarly introductions and a bibliography, as well as lovely line drawings by Gary Zaboly, Snotty’s story seeks to prove that fairy tales rank with quantum mechanics in their ability to establish parallel worlds.”—Publishers Weekly
“A fun and unique tale, sure to entertain readers both young and old.” —Midwest Book Review
“Fascinating . . . A quirky, intelligent, and imaginative read for mid-teens and up.”—ForeWord Reviews
“Ms. Davies blends folklore, fairy tales, fantasy, and even oral tradition—and does so brilliantly . . . Snotty Saves the Day is a book for mature or precocious teens, for fantasy and tale-within-a-tale lovers, and for thoughtful adults who seek the wonder and optimism so badly needed in today’s times.” —New York Journal of Books
“Blending the magic of fairy tales with the great existential mysteries, Tod Davies leads us into a phantasmagorical world that resurrects the complex lore of times past with vibrant narrative energy.”—MARIA TATAR, author of The Annotated Brothers Grimm and other volumes, and chair of the Program in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University.
“The Arcadians know that real wisdom is found in fairy tales. Look inside this world and find wonder. Thank goodness for Tod Davies, who knows we need fairy-tales.”— KATE BERNHEIMER, editor of Fairy Tale Review
“An imaginative book that will make readers think twice.”—JACK ZIPES, author of Why Fairy Tales Stick