The Illustrated Wee Free Men (Discworld)
The Illustrated Wee Free Men (Discworld) book cover

The Illustrated Wee Free Men (Discworld)

Hardcover – Illustrated, September 30, 2008

by
Price
$136.90
Format
Hardcover
Pages
256
Publisher
Clarion Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0061340802
Dimensions
8.25 x 1 x 11.25 inches
Weight
2.46 pounds

Description

From School Library Journal Grade 6–10—This new edition of the first book in Pratchett's excellent "Tiffany Aching" series (HarperTempest) features full-color illustrations that are true to the author's keen descriptions. Fans of the original won't find faults: Tiffany looks like a true nine-year-old, and the blue-skinned Wee Free Men seem appropriately fierce and funny at the same time. Three well-chosen foldouts show key plot transitions as Tiffany first sees the Wee Free Men, later steps into the fairy world, and ultimately unleashes her full powers. Plentiful spot illustrations and creative use of space show that the illustrator has clearly entered into the spirit of Tiffany's world. Significant words occasionally appear behind the text in light gray, appropriate for a girl who has read the dictionary (because "no one told her you weren't supposed to"). Line drawings of Wee Free Men frequently appear along page borders as they hang from, climb up, and occasionally steal the letters of the text. Recurring passages that tell the backstory of Tiffany's Granny, merely italicized in the original edition, are now cleverly highlighted by insets resembling yellowed paper. Pratchett's expertly written fantasy works fine without any pictures, but these attractive images are quite effective without overwhelming the words. For less sophisticated readers, the visual elements may serve as reference points to help them navigate the rich setting and cohesive but complex plot.— Steven Engelfried, Multnomah County Library, OR Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Terry Pratchett was the acclaimed author of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, The Color of Magic , was published in 1983. In all, he was the author of more than fifty bestselling books which have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal for his young adult novel, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. He was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest services to literature was to avoid writing any. He lived in England and died in 2015 at the age of sixty-six. Stephen Player has illustrated more than one hundred books. Originally from Great Britain, he now lives in San Francisco.

Features & Highlights

  • There's trouble on the Aching farm: monsters in the river, headless horsemen in the lane—and Tiffany Aching's little brother has been stolen by the Queen of Fairies. Getting him back will require all of Tiffany's strength and determination (as well as a sturdy skillet) and the help of the rowdy clan of fightin', stealin' tiny blue-skinned pictsies known as the Wee Free Men!
  • Master storyteller and gifted comic Terry Pratchett is at his best in the adventures of Tiffany Aching and her tiny blue allies. Their first irresistible story comes to life in this lavishly illustrated edition, perfect for fans old and new.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
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(1.6K)
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(932)
★★
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Most Helpful Reviews

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Crivens! There's Pictures!

Wee Free Men is a children's book, but in the great tradition of British children's novels: it can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. For my money, it is Pratchett's finest children's book. In the precocious, ferociously intelligent young witch Tiffany Aching he has created one of the great child protagonists in the genre. In the drinking, thieving, fighting and cussing Nac Mac Feegles, the Pictsies, the wee free men of the title, he has one of the comic forces of nature. The combination will make you laugh out loud. Repeatedly.

This 2008 edition brings Stephen Player's illustrations to Pratchett's 2003 novel. In some ways, some of the illustrations are a little too sweet. Tiffany Aching probably isn't that pretty, and I'm completely certain that Nac Mac Feegles are not nearly that clean or cute. But in other ways the illustrations are masterful. Tiffany's "unsuitable boots" are perfect. There are four delightful fold-out pages, the flashbacks are styled as diary pages, and the text of signs are set out as signs. The monsters are monsters, just short of terrifying, especially the dromes and the nightmares. And there's even a bit of new material for those of us who have read (and re-read) the book already.

The cameos by the Discworld's most famous witches at the end are spot-on. And Player's copy of "The Fairy Fellers' Master-Stroke" is inspired, even if the Feegle is being vulgar.

Too often, illustrations added later simply float over the story. Stephen Player's drawings, to a very considerable extent, add to the pleasure of the book. When Tiffany finds the way into Faerie, the fold-out drawing hides and reveals, just as Tiffany struggles to see with First Sight.

Player has brought new and additional delight to a delightful book. Very highly recommended.
12 people found this helpful
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Great Fun. With Pictures.

Terry Pratchett's "Wee Free Men" in its original form has already been a wonderful appendix to the main Discworld book series, "Wee Free Men" being the first of the books written about Tiffany Aching, a young witch in-training and friend to the pictsies (think of drunken, thieving, fighting pixies with Scots accents; but never never never refer to them as "pixies" -- it would be safer to call the Librarian a "monkey"). As with all the best books written for a "young people" audience, the book is immensely enjoyable by an intelligent adult. Even in its original, text-only version it was a great pleasure, and now that enjoyment is enhanced thanks to the vivid, evocative illustrations in this new edition. I suppose it is impossible for an illustrator to exactly match the visual impressions already held by a reader, but Stephen Player does a good job at capturing the spirit of the thing. In several cases, the illustrations are cleverly integrated into the text, not presented merely as decorations.

If a reader is new to Discworld, this would be a good introduction (some of the later Discworld novels in the main series benefit from a previous familiariy with that peculiar world, although it does not delve into elephants on the back of a giant, space-swimming turtles; but a couple of popular characters from the main Discworld novels are on hand). And for long-time Discworld fans, it is simply a delight.
5 people found this helpful
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A humorous fairy tale for youth and adult readers

The Illustrated Wee Free Men is a fanciful fairy tale told with an enormous amount of wit and humor. This is the newest version of Pratchett's Discworld story. The original was released as a novel geared for youth, though it is sure to be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

Nine-year-old Tiffany Aching is growing up on a sheep and dairy farm and longs for a bit of magic in her life. Unlike the wizards and witches who wave wands and chant spells, young Tiffany offers a healthy dose of common sense and practical determination combined with an unhindered view of the world that allows her to see the realm beyond the ordinary and do what must be done to save her community and her young brother from the evil faerie queen.

Tiffany teams up with the fierce pictsies, the Nac Mac Feegle, also known as the Wee Free Men. The fact that the Nac Mac Feegle are blue and only six inches tall does not lessen their status as the most feared warriors amongst all faerie races. They are ruthless fighters, hearty drinkers, and unrepentant thieves who celebrate life and death with equal abandon.

Stephen Player's illustrations lend much to the tale and make this version of Wee Free Men a potential collectible. The drawings almost dance along the pages, often inserted as background shadow images or borders along the page. At times, the text on a particular page is re-arranged to accommodate the insertion of artwork in unusual places. Player's depictions of the expressions and physical stances of both Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men exactly capture how I would picture them to be when reading the story.

Pratchett's interesting characters have the wonderful habit if popping up now and again throughout his various novels. This continues to be the case with Wee Free Men. Whether you are new to Pratchett's Discworld series, or a longtime fan, I enthusiastically recommend The Illustrated Wee Free Men as one to add to your book collection.
3 people found this helpful
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Wonderfully done

I purchased this as a gift for a niece, and I must say it is beautifully done. It's Pratchett so that screams quality from the get go for the writting, and if you don't know what I'm talking about you have a lot of reading to catch up on. The Illustrations are nice, and there are a lot of little touches done with the pages that you generally only find in short picture books. The quality of the bindings and paper is of library quality. All in all a great product that I'm sure a child will be able to enjoy for a life time, even when they are eventually a big job themselves.
2 people found this helpful
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i have loved the book for years, now i have the the beautiful ilustrated version.

it is sadly out of print.
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A great intro book.

This book made me want to read more of the series. I loved the wee men who were basically drunks who cared. Hilarious.
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Please bring back the illustrated version!!!

The book is great, and the illustrations are so perfectly done. I own the non-illustrated version but had to get this version from the library to read it to my daughter. The images add a lot, for example the pictures from the Goode Childe's story book and the cutaway diagrams showing the spring activating inside the pointy hat. I love the little Feegles in the text, stealing letters and generally wreaking havoc. Unfortunately this version is out of print and I haven't been able to find a reasonably priced copy, oh waily waily!
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Five Stars

One of Terry Pratchett's better works illustrated beautifully.
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I only wish the other books in the series had been done like this.

The illustrations are so clever, and some are so subtle. I spend lots of time hunting for the Nac Mac Feegle who are hidden amongst the text, stealing letters, trying to move sentences, hanging from words, and more.
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The Beginning of the Tiffany Aching Series

Wee Free Men is a charming coming-of-age story with a brave and sensible female heroine. Tiffany Aching, a practical girl with a strong sense of intuition, journeys to fairyland to save her kidnapped brother from the Queen of Fairies. Armed with a frying pan and the help of drunk swearing blue pixies call the Mac Nac Feegles, Tiffany proves to herself that witches are not gnarled old crones hidden in the dark chanting spells over cauldrons. They are just people with common sense who know when to act.

Stephan Player's illustrations add another dimension to Wee Free Men. It is interesting to see an artist's take on Tiffany Aching's world. Not every page is illustrated nor is every major event illustrated. Sometimes there are just pages of text without illustrations. More often than not, there are only a couple of small illustrations dotting the page. However, big things and events like Tiffany, the Feegle mound, Fairyland monsters, The Shepherdess, Granny Aching and the Jolly Sailor are all accompanied with full page illustrations. The only thing that bothers me is that Player's Tiffany looks a bit like John Tenniel's Alice. All in all, Player does wonderful illustrations for a great Pratchett story.

One other item worth noting, if the cover of the book is important to you - the US edition and the UK edition bears different covers. The US version shows Feegles hidden in a tea cup. The UK version shows Feegles peering into the saucer of black ink Miss Tick uses to spy on Tiffany. The tea cup illustration also appears inside the book, but nowhere in the book can you find the saucer of black ink illustration.

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