Wintersmith

The God of Winter has fallen in love with 13-year-old apprentice witch Tiffany Aching. She enlists the support of the Wee Free Men--her toughest, craziest, and smallest friends--to bend the rules of the rites of spring and protect her world from being eternally frozen. In this energetic mix of boisterous fantasy, wonderful humor, and uncommon common sense, longtime Discworld series narrator Stephen Briggs gives a virtuoso performance, delivering every line and every character voice with just the right glee, tension, and clarity. Briggs saves his best efforts for the wee Scottish-accented "Pictsies," who are laugh-out-loud funny and endearing all at once. Tiffany Aching insists that witches don't believe in magic, but certainly Briggs and Pratchett must. Terry Pratchett's third Tiffany Aching novel is highly recommended. B.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

November 1, 2006
Gr 6 Up-Winter must die, and Summer must sink into the ground; it is all part of the Story, and Tiffany Aching has danced into the middle of it. On the last day of autumn, Tiffany travels to the woods to witness the Black Morris, the traditional dance of the gods heralding the arrival of winter. In a moment of heedless excitement, her rollicking feet draw her to the music, and she crashes headlong into the Wintersmith. He is fascinated by the girl and proceeds to court her in his own fashionall the snowflakes are made in her image and giant Tiffany-shaped icebergs appear in the sea. Meanwhile, Tiffany begins to show characteristics of the goddess Summerthe touch of her bare feet makes things grow. All the attention from the Wintersmith would be quite flattering were it not for the deadly winter that threatens the shepherds of the Chalk. As the situation is very dangerous and death is certain, the Nac Mac Feegles (along with an especially lively cheese named Horace) are directly in the fray protecting their big wee hag along with Annagramma, Granny Weatherwax, Miss Tick, and other favorites from past adventures. All are skillfully characterized; even the Wintersmith elicits sympathy as he joyfully buries the world in snow in his attempt to win Tiffany. Replete with dry and intelligent humor, this latest in the series is sure to delight."Heather M. Campbell, Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.