The Wee Free Men
Discworld
By Terry Pratchett 

     Terry Pratchett always says that he writes for anybody old enough to read his books, but here is his second Discworld novel for younger readers. In this book we are introduced to a new area of the Discworld called The Chalk, which is a sort of super-Wiltshire, home to sheep, ancient monuments and young Tiffany Aching.

     When monsters out of folk tales start appearing and her baby brother is stolen away by the Fairy Queens, Tiffany realises it is time to do something and maybe the opportunity to be what she yearns to become: a witch. She has a real one to give her a bit of advice and the help (or hindrance) of the Wee Free Men, tiny tartan terrors who got thrown out of Fairyland for being…tiny tartan terrors. It is time to go forth, armed with Granny Aching's Diseases of the Sheep and her trusty frying pan.

     I have remarked before that Pratchett is not, in my opinion, a consistently good writer but to date I have found that all his work for younger readers tends to have a good story line. This is an essential hook on which to hang the comedy, and he doesn't let moralizing or quasi-seriousness muddy the waters. There is a resourceful nine-year-old heroine, plenty of Celtic jokes and surprisingly, some lovely descriptions of The Chalk itself which comes to life as the Discworld equivalent of a real place known to the author. I didn't find it as inventive or witty as The Amazing Maurice & His Educated Rodents (also reviewed on this site) and the parts in Fairyland tended to get repetitive, showing that Pratchett is better with humor or satire than he is with action. Good, not great, but still well above the average and not one to miss if you enjoy his work.