The Wee Free Men

In the Chalk, the sheepherding country of the Discworld, nine-year-old Tiffany Aching knows she wants to be a witch. Just in time, too. Since her Granny Aching died, the Queen of Fairyland has been testing the borders between their worlds, and will soon grow bolder without a local to protect it. Tiffany doesn’t know if she’s got the right skills, but when her brother is stolen, she has to get him back – even if she doesn’t like him much – because he belongs to her. She soon meets the Nac Mac Feegle (the Wee Free Men of the title), who have adopted her as their new “hag.” The Feegles are red-haired, blue-skinned, 6-inch high men who know what they do best: “stealin’ an’ drinkin’ an’ fightin’!” Though they have many amusing battle cries, their most common is “Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master! We willna be fooled again!” Short on complex thought but big on loyalty to the local hag (an’ stealin’ an’ drinkin’ an’ fightin’), the Feegles agree to help Tiffany find her brother. Although their help is invaluable, Tiffany comes into her own and is able to retrieve what she seeks and learns quite a bit about being a witch on the way. (It often has to do with noticing things other people miss!)

As a longtime fan of Pratchett’s adult Discworld novels, I was more than pleased with this story, which was published as a teen book. It is a less aggressive but lovely introduction to Pratchett’s work, full of fun with commonly held concepts (why does the witch have to be wicked?) and wordplay. I’m looking forward to the next two books that follow Tiffany and the Feegles, A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith.