Miss Beadle's books versus TP's World of Poo

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Slantaholic

Lance-Corporal
Jun 1, 2013
107
2,275
UK
www.fanfiction.net
#1
Does anyone think that Terry Pratchett's version of World of Poo is different to Miss Beadle's book published on Discworld? Her stories sound like they should be read by a younger generation than the style Pratchett wrote in, which was altogether too weird for me. I'm ashamed to admit I stood in W H Smith's bestselling books aisle to read it.

I think Miss Beadle may be a better writer for very young children than Sir Terry Pratchett himself.
 

Tonyblack

Super Moderator
City Watch
Jul 25, 2008
30,852
3,650
Cardiff, Wales
#2
Well as Miss Beadle is a fictitious character, who really didn't write any books, it's very hard to say. My understanding is that it was mostly written by Bernard Pearson (The Cunning Artificer), with help, advice and approval by Terry.

In the same way that Where's My Cow was based on the book in Thud! it clearly isn't the same story that Sam reads his son.
 

The Mad Collector

Sergeant-at-Arms
Sep 1, 2010
9,918
2,850
61
Ironbridge UK
www.bearsonthesquare.com
#3
It was mainly by Isobel, Bernards wife :laugh: and whilst yes it is based on the book referred to in Snuff it clearly isn't the same book although it is closer to what I imagine that book to be than Where's My Cow as the printed version of that has illustrations of the Vimes household which an 'original Discworld' book wouldn't.
 

=Tamar

Lieutenant
May 20, 2012
12,004
2,900
#4
Slantaholic said:
Does anyone think that Terry Pratchett's version of World of Poo is different to Miss Beadle's book published on Discworld? Her stories sound like they should be read by a younger generation than the style Pratchett wrote in, which was altogether too weird for me. I'm ashamed to admit I stood in W H Smith's bestselling books aisle to read it.

I think Miss Beadle may be a better writer for very young children than Sir Terry Pratchett himself.
We didn't get to read much of Miss Beadle's work, which was in any case written by Sir Terry (at least the bits we saw (-;) so presumably it was written by the "Miss Beadle" subroutine in his head. I agree that the World of Poo as published in Roundworld has a more advanced vocabulary than was implied by the subject matter as represented in Snuff. However, the culture of Discworld is so far only in the very early Victorian era, when books for young children were considerably more advanced than modern ones. It is reliably reported that five-year-olds in 1865 loved Alice in Wonderland and understood it perfectly. The vocabulary in the Alice books is now considered suitable for ages 9-15.
Possibly a bright six-year-old on the Disc would have no trouble with the vocabulary and situations in The World of Poo. It may even be that part of the point is that the vocabulary is much more advanced than that in A.A.Milne's Winnie The Pooh and in books such as Everyone Poops (both recommended for ages 4-7).
 
Dec 14, 2013
1
1,650
#5
I'd even go so far as to say if Pratchett really wanted to create real world characters that really grip us - which he didn't absolutely achieve in Dodger - he'd do far worse than to look back at the Johnny Maxwell books and take a lesson from them.
 

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