Only a child so quick-witted as Clemency Pogue, upon finding herself attacked by a wicked, invincible fairy, would remember a lesson learned from the story ofPeter Pan. She shouts "I don't believe in fairies," and when it doesn't work, keeps shouting it until the horrible little creature drops as dead as a gossamer-winged doorknob. But then a mischievous hobgoblin arrives to tell Clem that she's killed six other fairies around the globe, some bad, but mostly good. Even if it was a mistake, it's now Clem's duty to set the world aright.In his hilarious, action-packed debut novel, JT Petty does for burlap pants what holes have done for Swiss cheese. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Inanity abounds in Petty's debut novel, a snippet of a tale that borrows from the sagas of Peter Pan and Rumpelstiltskin. After a nasty fairy stings Clemency repeatedly with a burning wand and causes the 10-year-old to tumble into a deep gorge, she recalls that there was "in the story of the little boy who never grew up, instruction for the extermination of fairies" and declares, "I don't believe in fairies!" Because she utters this sentence seven times, Clemency inadvertently kills not only the fairy tormenting her, but six others as well. A hobgoblin appears and, when Clemency unknowingly utters his name and becomes his master, he agrees to accompany her to the sites of the fairies' demises. Tunneling through the earth at a rapid pace, the two visit the children whose lives have been affected by the diminutive creatures' deaths, including a boy in Salt Lake City who woke up to find that the Tooth Fairy hadn't retrieved his tooth-and was lying dead on his pillow; a lovesick lad in Brazil whom the Fairy of Love and Tenderness was helping to write a poem to his beloved when that fairy was struck dead; and a girl in Siberia whose infected ear contains a pea and the body of the Fairy of Noninvasive Surgery, who had died while attempting to remove the legume. Though Petty works some clever wordplay and comic elements into his narrative, readers are likely to find Clemency's path to reversing the curse lengthy and laborious. Ages 8-12. (May) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 3-6-Clemency Pogue comes from a family of fantasy storytellers, but she is completely surprised when the Fairy of Frequent and Painful Pointless Antagonism meets her in the woods and stings her repeatedly. When Clemency is about to drop to her death in a deep gorge, she shouts "I don't believe in fairies" seven times before the wicked fairy finally dies. However, she finds out from an ugly hobgoblin that she has also killed six other fairies with her careless words. After unwittingly learning the hobgoblin's true name, Chaphesmeeso, and thus having power over him forever, Clemency travels the world with him in order to try to undo her misdeeds. She is able to revive some of the good fairies, such as the Tooth Fairy and the Fairy of Love and Tenderness, or at least finish their good deeds all in a day. While trying to save a child in Russia and revive the Fairy of Noninvasive Surgery who has died in her ear with the pea she was attempting to remove, Clemency must muster all her courage and wits to fight her fairy nemesis once again. Actor L.J. Ganser narrates J.T. Petty's fantasy (S & S, 2005), giving each character a distinctive voice that adds to the humor and adventure of the story. Imaginative similes, clever wordplay, and somewhat sophisticated humor and vocabulary make this an appealing story for young fantasy lovers.-Teresa Wittmann, Westgate Elementary School, Edmonds, WA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information