The Witch's Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories

February 1, 2017

Gr 3-6-A magical vacuum cleaner, a time-traveling television, airships, feuds, wars, scandals, and gnomes are but a few of the magical conundrums and characters in this collection. Each story is well-developed, engaging, and complex. Laced with the humor only Pratchett can deliver, this volume of tales is a great way to remember the late author's writing style. Some of the characters' names, when read aloud, are even good for a laugh. Quirky footnotes, text that pops off the page, and memorable scenes draw readers deep into Pratchett's world. VERDICT This is a must-read for any fantasy, adventure, or Pratchett fan-and a great way to introduce his writings to a new generation.-Kira Moody, Whitmore Public Library, Salt Lake City

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2016
More free-range juvenilia from the much-missed creator of Discworld.Following up on The Dragons at Crumbling Castle, and Other Stories (2015), these 14 tales were likewise originally published in the 1960s and '70s in the Bucks Free Press and reappear here with fresh titles and, as Pratchett puts it in his posthumous introduction, a few added "bits and bobs." Mostly set in either the contemporary town of Blackbury or the "Wild West" (i.e., Welsh) hamlet of Llandanffwnfafegettupagogo, the tales tend toward silly upsets. These range from the mysterious transformation of local residents into Elizabethans to the exploits of Police Constable Bryn Bunyan, "fastest truncheon west of the River Severn," at the O.K. Sheep Dip and elsewhere. In several episodes, adventurers, usually diminutive, intrepidly set out in such odd vehicles as a passing airship, a walnut submarine, or a human-sized lorry (this last forming the kernel of a later novel, Truckers). Aside from "An Ant Called 4179003" who settles in with an errant bee (both males, read into that what you will), the casts are all filled with standard, mundane or magical white, British types. Bravery shows up almost as often as buffoonery in these satiric bits and bobs. (Fantasy/short stories. 10-12)

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November 1, 2016
Grades 3-6 It's no surprise that this collection of 14 short stories, a companion to Dragons at Crumbling Castle (2015), is a charmer designed to plaster a smile on any kid's face. Penned by a 17-year-old Pratchett and originally published in his local newspaper, these whimsical tales already bear this prolific author's hallmark humor and imagination. Magic, of course, appears in many of the stories, from rival magicians trying to turn each other's front doors to cheese in Wizard War to a librarian who accidentally turns his town Elizabethanruffs, hast thous, and allin The Truly Terrible Toothache. An unpronounceable Welsh town reveals itself to be a second Wild West, and readers will get a kick out of paying it and its oddball residents several visits. Many stories share a common theme of exploration, and these uncommon adventurersan ant, a gnome, a trollare unified in their need to discover the wider world and their places in it. Perhaps not Pratchett's most noteworthy work, but it is a guaranteed pleasure to read. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: It's Pratchett! His legion of Discworld and Tiffany Aching followers are probably already at the door.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018
Originally published serially in the 1960s and 1970s, the short stories in this posthumous collection introduce readers to a variety of absurd, frequently magical settings and situations, including the "real Wild West" (Wales). Pratchett fans will enjoy the quick wit, nonstop wordplay, and imaginative setups, but the stories lack the underlying spirit that characterized the author's acclaimed later, longer works.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)