Title: The Wee Free Men
Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2003
ISBN: 9780060012380
Reading Level: Age 10 and up
Genre: Fantasy--Magic and Wizards
Reader’s Annotation: Tiffany sets off to rescue her little brother from the Queen of Fairyland with nothing but a frying pan and a clan of ugly little fairies.
Review
I got this book (and the second in the series, A Hatful of Sky) from my sister Julia for Christmas. Julia is 14 and the Wee Free Men series is one of her favorites. The Wee Free Men of the title, also called Nac Mac Feegle, are fairies--ugly, rude fairies. They're little men with blue skin, red hair, and broken noses. This last feature is due to one of their favorite pastimes: fighting. Their other favorites are drinking and stealing.
Our heroine, Tiffany Aching, encounters the Feegle when her world bumps up against the world of Fairyland. They warn her that the Queen of Fairyland, a very dangerous person, is heading toward the Chalk--Tiffany's home turf, where most people are shepherds and Tiffany's deceased granny is regarded nearly as a goddess. Tiffany already knows that she wants to be a witch when she grows up, though she's had no training as yet. But when the Queen makes off with Tiffany's obnoxious little brother, there's no one else to go after him. So Tiffany enlists the help of the Nac Mac Feegle, who know the Queen and how Fairyland works. (They used to live there, but were thrown out because of their favorite activities. They call themselves the Wee Free Men because they no longer allow anyone to rule over them. In fact, their favorite chant is "Nae King! Nae Quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna be fooled again!" As you can tell, the Feegle speak in an entertaining Scottish-like dialect. Other common exclamations include "Crivens!" and "Oh, waily, waily!")
Tiffany has a good voice. She's practical and stubborn, good-hearted but unsentimental. The magic is also well done. Fairyland is a place of dreams--they're how the Queen ensnares and controls people. (The way the dreams work is reminiscent of the movie Inception.) And witchcraft in Tiffany's world is mostly about taking practical, necessary action when action is required. There's a little magic, too, but it's limited and used sparingly. Pratchett can't resist slathering his message on a bit thick--subtlety is not his strong suit--and the escape from the Queen is a little too drawn-out. Overall, though, this is an entertaining read with great characters and an interesting world.
Challenge Issues: Frying-pan violence and drunken fairies
Author: Terry Pratchett
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2003
ISBN: 9780060012380
Reading Level: Age 10 and up
Genre: Fantasy--Magic and Wizards
Reader’s Annotation: Tiffany sets off to rescue her little brother from the Queen of Fairyland with nothing but a frying pan and a clan of ugly little fairies.
Review
I got this book (and the second in the series, A Hatful of Sky) from my sister Julia for Christmas. Julia is 14 and the Wee Free Men series is one of her favorites. The Wee Free Men of the title, also called Nac Mac Feegle, are fairies--ugly, rude fairies. They're little men with blue skin, red hair, and broken noses. This last feature is due to one of their favorite pastimes: fighting. Their other favorites are drinking and stealing.
Our heroine, Tiffany Aching, encounters the Feegle when her world bumps up against the world of Fairyland. They warn her that the Queen of Fairyland, a very dangerous person, is heading toward the Chalk--Tiffany's home turf, where most people are shepherds and Tiffany's deceased granny is regarded nearly as a goddess. Tiffany already knows that she wants to be a witch when she grows up, though she's had no training as yet. But when the Queen makes off with Tiffany's obnoxious little brother, there's no one else to go after him. So Tiffany enlists the help of the Nac Mac Feegle, who know the Queen and how Fairyland works. (They used to live there, but were thrown out because of their favorite activities. They call themselves the Wee Free Men because they no longer allow anyone to rule over them. In fact, their favorite chant is "Nae King! Nae Quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna be fooled again!" As you can tell, the Feegle speak in an entertaining Scottish-like dialect. Other common exclamations include "Crivens!" and "Oh, waily, waily!")
Tiffany has a good voice. She's practical and stubborn, good-hearted but unsentimental. The magic is also well done. Fairyland is a place of dreams--they're how the Queen ensnares and controls people. (The way the dreams work is reminiscent of the movie Inception.) And witchcraft in Tiffany's world is mostly about taking practical, necessary action when action is required. There's a little magic, too, but it's limited and used sparingly. Pratchett can't resist slathering his message on a bit thick--subtlety is not his strong suit--and the escape from the Queen is a little too drawn-out. Overall, though, this is an entertaining read with great characters and an interesting world.
Challenge Issues: Frying-pan violence and drunken fairies