The evil magician Snodrog ensnares his victims with his inescapable logic and transforms them into Flimsies (stained handkerchiefs) ... until the kindly sorcerer, Sir Bertram Crabtree-Gore (Esq.) enlists the help of a magical Shuffly (Latin name: Scuffulans Hirsutus) ... and Snodrog meets his match!

Praise for The Pedant and the Shuffly

John Bellairs was a one-of-a-kind writer, and The Pedant and the Shuffly is a one-of-a-kind book. John Bellairs was a truly erudite man, able to make wicked fun of meaningless erudition, and his unique wit romps through every page of this book, whether you understand Latin, logic, linguistics, logorrhea or not. To read it is to realize what a loss his death was—not simply to fantasy, or to children's literature, but to the English language, and to the art of storytelling, which he served so well in the short time he had. I’m truly grateful to have any of John Bellairs’s books back in print. Especially this one.
—Peter S. Beagle

Child or adult, who would not thrill to the cockeyed poesy of that image? Kids who love wonderful, weird, and wacky stories will snicker happily over Snodrog’s misadventures. Adults who adore James Thurber at his best, who have whispered Edward Gorey quotes to other adults In The Know, will welcome this superb reprint from the Mythopoeic Press. Read it to yourself, or better yet, read it aloud. It’s entrancing.
—Sherwood Smith