The Carpet People

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First Book - Rated
This is the first book I ever read, so I always look back on this book with a certian ammount of nostalgia.
Nostalgia aside, I found that this is a very packed book for less than 200 pages.
I find it hard to disemminate the plot without at least one spoiler, so I'll let you read the book.
Snibril is the character to whom most of the action happens to, and his development is supurb.
and as for Pismere, when you find out why he was kicked out of the dumi empire, you will laugh out loud.
I feel that this is one of Pratchetts greatest achievments. It is worth a read to Pratchett fans in order to see him at his best, and to anyone else, just so that you can see a well writen book that is action packed, but still short enough to read in a matter of hours.

Origional and Exciting - Rated
'The Carpet People' is a book you could read again and again and you will never get bored of it in my opinion. The idea of it is origional - has anyone else ever wrote a book about a carpet?
To anyone who hasnt read this, its about a tribe of minute people in a carpet who call themselves Munrungs. One day, their whole village is flattened by Fray, a phenomenon (have I spelt that right?) controlled by mouls (this is another race that lives in the carpet). So the Munrungs set out on a journey to stop Fray...

Down among the warp and woof - Rated
The story behind this story is nearly the best story of all: "This book had two authors, one aged seventeen, one aged forty-three. Both of them were Terry Pratchett." Having penned this tale and had it lapse into obscurity, Pratchett is impelled by his editors to revive it years later. Rightly so. For the dedicated PTerry fan, this example of his early writing is an illuminating read. Many views expressed in the Discworld books are readily perceived here. For someone new to Pratchett, it's a great introduction to the scope of his ideas and his writing skills. For any reader, it's simply a delight to enjoy.

The story is a fine example of Pratchett's ability to view the world from a fresh perspective. If there's a fantasy novel lacking a dark forest and mysterious creatures, i've missed it. Pratchett, never a formula writer, simply shrinks the scope. His forested world is a thickly napped rug. Instead of pines or oaks, it's nylon and wool "hairs". The creatures are there, the snargs, the hymetors and others - including silverfish, who live under the world. There are also people - the Munrungs, the Deftmenes and - the Dumii. They interact, sometimes violently. Deep down in the pile, these people and their communities are invisible to humans. Something, however, sends terror through the forest peoples - Fray. This immensely destructive force topples cities and obliterates villages.

Pratchett builds a story of the conflict of respected traditions countered by innovation and invention. There is an Empire, to which taxes are due. That means clerks, organisation, regulations. While the Munrungs have always met the demands for revenue, others have opposed the imposition, hence, the Empire. Could two such peoples find a common cause? It seems unlikely, but the best way to unite two dissimilar tribes is having a common enemy.

Except for the conflict of good and evil, this story avoids formula approaches to fantasy. There are many characters, all of them reflected by people around us. Snibril, a Munrung, stands out but a little from the rest. One of his attributes is that he suffers sinus trouble. This isn't normally a heroic virtue, but it proves valuable here. There's also a philosopher. Everybody thinks to some extent. Philosophers are typified by telling about it in an interesting way. This description, of course, fits Pratchett admirably.

Down among the warp and woof - Rated
The story behind this story is nearly the best story of all: "This book had two authors, one aged seventeen, one aged forty-three. Both of them were Terry Pratchett." Having penned this tale and had it lapse into obscurity, Pratchett is impelled by his editors to revive it years later. Rightly so. For the dedicated PTerry fan, this example of his early writing is an illuminating read. Many views expressed in the Discworld books are readily perceived here. For someone new to Pratchett, it's a great introduction to the scope of his ideas and his writing skills. For any reader, it's simply a delight to enjoy.

The story is a fine example of Pratchett's ability to view the world from a fresh perspective. If there's a fantasy novel lacking a dark forest and mysterious creatures, i've missed it. Pratchett, never a formula writer, simply shrinks the scope. His forested world is a thickly napped rug. Instead of pines or oaks, it's nylon and wool "hairs". The creatures are there, the snargs, the hymetors and others - including silverfish, who live under the world. There are also people - the Munrungs, the Deftmenes and - the Dumii. They interact, sometimes violently. Deep down in the pile, these people and their communities are invisible to humans. Something, however, sends terror through the forest peoples - Fray. This immensely destructive force topples cities and obliterates villages.

Pratchett builds a story of the conflict of respected traditions countered by innovation and invention. There is an Empire, to which taxes are due. That means clerks, organisation, regulations. While the Munrungs have always met the demands for revenue, others have opposed the imposition, hence, the Empire. Could two such peoples find a common cause? It seems unlikely, but the best way to unite two dissimilar tribes is having a common enemy.

Except for the conflict of good and evil, this story avoids formula approaches to fantasy. There are many characters, all of them reflected by people around us. Snibril, a Munrung, stands out but a little from the rest. One of his attributes is that he suffers sinus trouble. This isn't normally a heroic virtue, but it proves valuable here. There's also a philosopher. Everybody thinks to some extent. Philosophers are typified by telling about it in an interesting way. This description, of course, fits Pratchett admirably. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

the Carpet People By Terry Pratchett - Rated
As a teacher of ages 9 to 11 I think this book has enormous potential as a shared reading text for use in the classroom. Pratchett takes an everyday item, a carpet, and turns it into something magical. The use of language and his descriptions are ideal for younger readers and having read many of pratchetts other books, including the terrific Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky, I think this is an ideal starter for anyone who may not of read any Terry Pratchett before as it isn't as complex as some of his other books nor are the descritptions as detailed.

I can't wait to share this book with my students and I would recommend other teachers to read this book too. We'll certainly be doing lots of creative writing and story telling based on this book and hopefully writing our own answers to questions such as `What is Fray?'.