Was browsing in Waterstones today...

[daibhidc]

...I've been resisting (more or less) peeking at Nation, because I don't want to spoil it[1], but The Illustrated Wee Free Men came out this week, and I thought "Well, I already know the story, so spoilers don't really apply". I was planning on getting it for my neice for Christmas[2], and now I'm not sure I can wait that long.

There are Feegles interlaced in the text (sometimes stealing words). There's fold-out pages. There are bits where signage and writing is in the illustrations rather than the text. There's the court transcript of the events leading to a certain lawyer being turned into a toad (and we learn his name is Mr Natter, which is a wonderful name for a toad who's actually a lawyer). And the illustrations themselves are brilliant.

I may have to order this one from the library as well.

[1]It's on order from the library. If I go around buying the autumn Pratchett, my entire Christmas list is thrown into disarray.

[2]Pending her mother's approval, which I'm pretty confident about.

Comments

[cat63.livejournal.com]

There's the court transcript of the events leading to a certain lawyer being turned into a toad (and we learn his name is Mr Natter, which is a wonderful name for a toad who's actually a lawyer).

Oh wonderful! Is his first name Jack, by any chance? :-)

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

Um, it hadn't registered at the time, but now you mention it, I think he was James Natter (a court transcript wouldn't call the prosecuter Jack, even if everyone else did).

[cat63.livejournal.com]

(a court transcript wouldn't call the prosecuter Jack, even if everyone else did).

True. I think Jack is short for John rather than James, but it's still a nice touch.