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Publisher:
Harper Collns |
Release
Date: May 13, 2003 |
ISBN:
0060012366 |
Awards:
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Format
Reviewed: Trade paperback |
Buy
it at Amazon |
Read
an Excerpt |
Genre:
Young Adult Fantasy Fiction (ages 12 and older) |
Reviewed:
2003 |
Reviewer:
Jo Rogers |
Reviewer
Notes: Review
One |
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The
Wee Free Men
A Story of Discworld
By Terry
Pratchett
Most
science fiction fans are familiar with Terry Pratchett's Discworld
Series. Now, he brings the fun to the world of children's books
with The Wee Free Men.
The farm where
Tiffany Aching lived was not the average farm. An Aching had tilled
the land for centuries. Granny Aching kept things going until her
death, especially looking after the sheep. Now, Tiffany's father
had it all to do. Tiffany and her sister helped, of course. But
Wentworth, Tiffany's little brother, was no help at all.
While
babysitting her brother, Tiffany saw something in the river she
had never seen before: two blue men, no more than six inches tall,
climbing into a tiny boat. They warned her of something terrible
in the calm river. Then, she saw it. It was green, and had eyes
as big as soup plates. A monster! Tiffany retreated to her home
and, after consulting one of Granny Aching's books, she returned
to the river with Wentworth. Using him as bait, she drove off the
monster, Jenny Green Teeth, by hitting her in the face with a frying
pan.
Miss
Perspicacious Tick, a witch, had seen everything. She was certain
that Tiffany was also a witch, but one who is living on chalk, which
is anathema to witches, rather than strong stone. She determined
to help Tiffany become all she could be.
Wentworth
disappeared and Tiffany decided to go after him, even without the
help of her mentor, Miss Tick. Armed only with her frying pan, the
blue men and Miss Tick's toad, she set out to rescue her brother.
The
Wee Free Men is a hilarious jaunt into fairy tale land. But
how can you miss with a witch named Perspicacious Tick? That is
only the beginning of a wild tale that had me laughing out loud.
Mr. Pratchett has given us another good story that both children
and adults will love.
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