A Hat Full of Sky (by Terry Pratchett)

In gradually re-reading Terry Pratchett’s lengthy ‘Discworld’ series, I’ve taken a slight detour from the main books to revisit the first couple of Tiffany Aching books, which were written for younger readers, although they’re enjoyable for people of all ages. 

I re-read ‘The Wee Free Men’ back in July, and liked it very much. I last read its sequel, ‘A hat full of sky’ in 2005 and had entirely forgotten the story. Although it took me a day or two to get into it, I thought it an excellent book. As ever there are quite a few characters and more than one storyline, and it works best read as a sequel rather than a standalone.

Tiffany Aching, who is now eleven, is on her way to work for Miss Level. Her parents think she’s going to be a kitchen maid or similar, and have no idea that she’s going to learn to be a witch. Tiffany’s grandmother was - kind of - a witch but died before the first book started, and she still misses her; but she feels quite a pull to continue her work. 

She’s not entirely sure that she’s cut out to be a witch, however; just riding on a broomstick makes her feel queasy. And she’s pretty sure that she’s the only one who is followed around by the Nac Mac Feegles - the six inch high ‘Wee free men’ of the first book - who have sworn to protect her. She’s also a bit disillusioned when she realises that most of her work with Miss Level is in fact cleaning, and checking animals, and helping people in the village who are sick, or elderly, or just need company. .

But Tiffany is being followed by a ‘hiver’, an invisible being that preys on the vulnerable. And it seems likely that it will catch up with her at some point, and we don’t know what will happen. I hadn’t remembered at all; obviously it was all going to work out in the end, as this is a children’s book, but I had no recollection of what happened, or how the hiver was persuaded to leave Tiffany, or what happened later in the book to ensure it didn’t return.

Nor do I know whether the word is pronounced 'high-ver' (to rhyme with diver) or 'hivver' (to rhyme with shiver). It might even be 'heaver'.

I suspect that some of the book would go over the head of younger children who could, nevertheless, read it as an exciting adventure. Tiffany is an excellent heroine, who is a little naive but kind, practical and determined - and stronger than people realise. She’s also very good at making cheese.

Definitely recommended if you like Pratchett’s writing, or just want something a bit different for an older child or teenager. But do read ‘The Wee Free Men’ first, even if you haven’t read anything else set in the Discworld.

There are three more books about Tiffany Aching, but I'm going to return to the main Discworld series for a few more books before continuing with them, reading the entire series roughly in publication order.

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