Snotty Saves the Day

A book arrives by Owl, left under an old fir tree in the snow. With it, a mysterious message: another world’s scientists have discovered the laws of the universe are found in?fairy tales. Is it true?

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 scholarly 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.

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 is a Fellow of the Company of Military Historians and a member of the Alamo Society. He lives with his wife Cora in Riverdale, New York, overlooking the Hudson River.