Snotty Saves the Day: The History of Arcadia (The History of A...

“Look inside this world and find wonder.” —KATE BERNHEIMER, editor of My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me and author of The Girl Who Wouldn’t Brush Her HairA 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.The History of Arcadia series tells the story of a world that was literally formed by a story, by one person discovering and claiming who she really is . . . and of the subsequent events that led first to a deceptively happy world, then to an inevitably tragic outcome, and finally to a slow rebuilding of the world on foundations more deeply and thoughtfully laid. Each book includes bonus Arcadian legends and fairy tales, and relates how the manuscript crossed the barriers between Arcadia and our own world to arrive at Exterminating Angel Press. The first two novels in the series are Snotty Saves the Day and Lily the Silent.Tod Davies lives with her husband and her two dogs at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, in Boulder, Colorado and in the alpine valley of Colestin, Oregon, where she discovered Snotty Saves the Day, the first Arcadian manuscript.Illustrator 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.

Marvels & Tales

“Innovative form and spellbinding content . . . Davies’s fast-paced and mesmerizing [Snotty Saves the Day], which propels its reader from one breathtaking adventure to the next, is a novel of ideas for children and adults. . . . Much like Snotty Saves the Day, Lily the Silent is also a political allegory that asks its reader to reflect on gender roles, popular culture, and dominant ideologies. . . . Stories, as Tod Davies’s History of Arcadia novels ultimately suggest, serve as a civilization’s backbone, and it is therefore in stories too that we can discover the potential for fundamental change and a better society.”

KATE BERNHEIMER, editor of My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me and author of The Girl Who Wouldn’t Brush Her Hair

“Look inside this world and find wonder.”

MARIA TATAR, author of The Annotated Brothers Grimm and other volumes, and chair of the Program in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University. ?? Praise for Lily the Silent, the second novel in The History of Arcadia series

“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.”

The Oregonian

“Tod Davies is a multitalented writer . . . In this book, Lily lives happily in Arcadia until an invasion from Megalopolis turns everything upside-down. She escapes slavery through a kind prince of Megalopolis and goes on an eventful journey to retrieve a key that could save her people.”

Publishers Weekly

“Davies’s absorbing salute to the necessity and power of storytelling promises many grand adventures while hinting that there is really only one.”

Library Journal

“A fairy tale told in lush but specific language, that reminds seasoned readers to seize their destiny.”

Bookslut

“In the grand tradition of fairy tales everywhere, Lily the Silent is the story of a reluctant heroine, feckless prince, and the wickedest of queens. . . . With Mike Madrid’s illustrations throughout (appropriately compared to Arthur Rackham’s), this title shows how comfortably fairy tales can encompass the fits and foibles of current times. It reads fast and furious and promotes love and friendship, all while making sure readers never forget to keep a solid head on their shoulders.”

Largehearted Boy Praise for Snotty Saves the Day, the first novel in The History of Arcadia series

“Tod Davies follows up her novel Snotty Saves the Day with the equally impressive Lily the Silent, the second installment in her The History of Arcadia series. This modern fairy tale smartly explores the power of storytelling in our lives, and is a rewarding book for both adults and children.”

ForeWord Reviews

“Fascinating . . . A quirky, intelligent, and imaginative read for mid-teens and up.”

New York Journal of Books

“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.”

Midwest Book Review

“A fun and unique tale, sure to entertain readers both young and old.”

Publishers Weekly

“[An] amusing debut . . . 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.”

Largehearted Boy

“A smart, funny, and thought-provoking read for readers of all ages, Snotty Saves the Day has me eagerly awaiting its sequel.”

Bookslut

“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.”

raises a wonder, a

“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

Nervous Breakdown

“sympathy with the idea of ‘changing the world’” that beats louder than does a superficially bleeding heart.”

Bookconscious

“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.”

JACK ZIPES, author of Why Fairy Tales Stick

“An imaginative book that will make readers think twice.”

About the Author

Tod Davies is the author of Snotty Saves the Day and Lily the Silent, both from The History of Arcadia series, and the cooking memoirs Jam Today: A Diary of Cooking With What You’ve Got and Jam Today Too: The Revolution Will Not Be Catered. 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. Davies lives with her husband and their two dogs, in the alpine valley of Colestin, Oregon, and at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, in Boulder, Colorado.

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