Product Description

Up on the chalk downs they call The Wold, witches are banned - ever since the Baron's son vanished in the woods. Anyway, as all witches know, chalk's no good for magic. Nine-year-old Tiffany Aching thinks her Granny Aching - a wise shepherd - might have been a witch, but now Granny Aching is dead and it's up to Tiffany to work it all out when strange things begin happening: a fairy-tale monster in the stream, a headless horseman and, strangest of all, the tiny blue men in kilts, the Wee Free Men, who have come looking for the new 'hag'. These are the Nac Mac Feegles, the pictsies, who like nothing better than thievin', fightin' and drinkin'. Then Tiffany's young brother goes missing and Tiffany and the Wee Free Men must join forces to save him from the Queen of the Fairies-

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #174444 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 318 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
When you have an author as good as Terry Pratchett writing for children, you expect that the result will be a novel of great invention, assured comic timing and a generally all-round highly readable fantasy tour de force. Readers of The Wee Free Men will not be disappointed. After winning the prestigious Carnegie Medal award for his previous story of Discworld for younger readers, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Pratchett has followed up with another irresistibly entertaining adventure.

Miss Perspicacia Tick, a witch of some renown, is worried about a ripple in the walls of the universe--probably another world making contact. Which is not good. This errant activity is centred on some chalk country--where traditionally good witches simply do not grow well. Fortunately, Miss Tiffany Aching of Home Farm on The Chalk, nine years old, misunderstood and yearning for excitement, wants to be a witch and has just proved herself to be of great potential by whacking a big Green Monster from the river with a huge frying pan while using her annoying younger brother as bait. Miss Tick is impressed. So, after travelling to the chalky downs at once and dispensing some stop gap advice to Tiffany about holding the fort until she gets back with more help, Miss Tick is off.

Any hesitation Tiffany may have had about the seriousness of the situation expires when the Queen of the fairies kidnaps her younger brother. With the help of a talking frog, loaned by Miss Tick, and an army of thieving, warmongering, nippy, boozy wee free men called the Nac Mac Feegle (who used to work for the Queen but rebelled), Tiffany sets off rescue her kin.

There's humour at every turn, and the situations that follow are both wonderfully dramatic and preposterously unreal. Pratchett really is the master of his genre and it's difficult to imagine a more entertaining read. (Age 10 and over) --John McLay

From the Back Cover
There’s trouble on the Aching farm – a monster in the river, a headless horseman in the driveway and nightmares spreading down from the hills. And now Tiffany Aching’s little brother has been stolen by the Queen of the Fairies (although Tiffany doesn’t think this is entirely a bad thing).
Tiffany’s got to get him back. To help her, she has a weapon (a frying pan), her granny’s magic book (well, Diseases of the Sheep, actually) and –
‘Crivens! Whut aboot us, ye daftie!’
– oh, yes. She’s also got the Nac Mac Feegle, the Wee Free Men, the fightin’, thievin’, tiny blue-skinned pictsies who were thrown out of Fairyland for being Drunk and Disorderly . . .
A wise, witty and wonderfully inventive adventure set in the Discworld®.

About the Author
Terry Pratchett Terry Pratchett is one of the most popular authors writing today. He lives behind a keyboard in Wiltshire and says he 'doesn't want to get a life, because it feels as though he's trying to lead three already'. He was appointed OBE in 1998. He is the author of the phenomenally successful Discworld series and his trilogy for young readers, The Bromeliad, is scheduled to be adapted into a spectacular animated movie.

Customer Reviews

A book of Discworld worth a place on your bookshelf
The Wee Free Men is Terry's second children's novel set on the Discworld. The story is about Tiffany Aching, a nine year old who lives and works with her family on a sheep farm located in a place know locally as 'The Chalk'.

Once a lonely old lady with no teeth was wrongly accused of being a witch and of cooking and eating the Baron's son. The old lady was turned out of her house and left to die in the winter. Tiffany knew the old lady was innocent because she only had a small oven (so couldn't possibly cook a person in it) and unexpectedly decided to become a witch to prevent this sort of thing happening again.

Being the youngest of the girls in the family Tiffany spends a lot of time looking after Wentworth, her little brother. When Wentworth is taken by an evil Queen, Tiffany decides to get him back. Armed only with her wits and the Nac Mac Feegle, Tiffany enters Fairyland on a quest to rescue her brother.

Being "a story of Discworld" Fairyland is not a very nice place. It is full of nasty creatures and is very difficult to get out of.

With this book Terry gets the opportunity to develop the background and culture of the Nac Mac Feegle (the titular Wee Free Men) to whom we were introduced in Carpe Jugulum. We discover that the Nac Mac Feegle used to live in Fairyland but were thrown out for being too rowdy and that they have a hatred of lawyers.

Tiffany is a very strong character and acts much older than her age. I imagine that Granny Weatherwax was probably like Tiffany as a child. She is sensible, intelligent and always carries a piece of string in case it may come in handy.

The Wee Free Men follows a single storyline and therefore doesn't
have the complexity of some of the Discworld novels. This makes the book much easier to read. On first reading I didn't want to put the book down.

The UK edition sports a Paul Kidby cover featuring the Nac Mac
Feegle and a small china shepherdess Tiffany won at a fete. The US edition features a highly stylised version of the Nac Mac Feegle attacking a sheep.

Each chapter in the UK book includes a small picture relevant to the chapter whilst the US version I saw didn't. I am unsure whether this will change for the final book.

I found The Wee Free Men to be highly entertaining and well worth a place on your bookshelf.

We willna' be fooled again!
You certainly will be fooled by this book. It is described as a childrens Discworld novel, and that may put some people off, but read this book and I promiase you you'll find it as rich with plot and humour, and as engaging as any of the other Discworld books. In this book we are introduced to the Nac Mac Feegle (Wee Free Men), who are very different to any kind of fairies you may have encountered before. This book will give you a whole eggs worth, and maybe even a carrots worth of education (read the book). Do you know what a susurrus is? Well know you can find out!

Seriously, this is a funny book and everyone should read it. It contains Pratchett's traditional blend of wit and humour, with an assortment of values and issues such as bravery, loyalty, and a desire to steal, fight, and steal.

So grab a packetof Jolly Sailor, pour yourself a glass of special sheep linament, and read this book! *****

Excellent Book!
Having not read a lot of Terry's work I thought I would give this book a try. I was not dissapointed it was rich with imagination, dark humour and enough of a plot to keep you going to the end. I would recommend this book to young teenagers but older people, like myself, can enjoy just as much! Very good book.