In 1928, when he was 6 years old, Dick was taken to London Zoo by his parents. He drew some pictures of the animals he saw there, including Ranji the tigon (a tiger crossed with a lion), Cleopatra the python, Sam the black-maned lion and Peter Pan the baby alligator. He also drew this rather fetching picture of a tiger (top of the page), which had been given to the zoo by Prince Ranjitsinhji – an Indian cricketer who was one of the finest batsmen of all time, and later became ruler of the Indian Princely State of Nawangar from 1907 to 1933. London Zoo opened to the public in 1828, exactly 100 ..read more

When I was 10, Dick King-Smith, my great grandfather, came to visit my school! It wasn’t long after we had moved from London to a tiny village on the west coast of Scotland—it was the first time Grampa Dick visited us in Ardfern, and was in fact the only time he made the long journey north before he passed away a few years later. My whole school only had about thirty pupils, so it was what you might call an intimate gig for him. He read to us, told us about his life and his writing, probably made some silly jokes, and answered our questions. He did many school visits during his career, includi ..read more

102 years ago today, on 27th March 1922, Dick King-Smith was born in Bitton, Gloucestershire. Here he is, at home, with Dodo the Dachshund. The post Dick’s Birthday appeared first on Dick King-Smith ..read more

Being read to is a great pleasure, whether you’re young, old, or somewhere in between! Did you know that well over 50 of Dick’s stories are available as audiobooks? Some stories may be familiar to you, and some might not! The stories are read by some brilliant actors, such as Andrew Sachs, June Whitfield and Jane Asher. On the Google Play Books YouTube Channel, you can listen to a 10-15 minute sample of all of Dick’s audiobook stories for free!   The post Read Me A Story appeared first on Dick King-Smith ..read more

Did you know that the film Babe, based on Dick King-Smith’s story The Sheep-Pig was nominated for an amazing 7 Academy Awards (Oscars)?! Released in 1995, the film received widespread critical acclaim and is still fondly remembered by many. The seven Academy Awards that Babe was nominated for were Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for James Cromwell, Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published, Best Art Direction and Best Film Editing. It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, effects which still look great to this day! Who doesn’t love to watch ..read more

A report by Dick’s son Giles King-Smith: On October 18th I visited the Batts School in Witney, Oxfordshire, at the invitation of Jane Woodage, who teaches there, and who (quite a long time ago) used to babysit our children in Corsham. It was a lovely visit, to talk about my Dad, and about “Ambrose Follows His Nose” and Josie Rogers (who finished Dick’s unfinished story), and to read from his books. The photo shows me walking across the stage, in a very poor impersonation of Max as he crosses the road, just before he is hit on the head and becomes a Hodgeheg. I should have crawled! We had a ses ..read more

A little while ago, Dick’s great-granddaughter Josie Rogers travelled to London for a special event. Here is her report on the visit… “The Discover Children’s Story Centre is in Stratford, not so far from where I was born. It’s exactly the kind of place I would have loved as a child, with different rooms representing different story worlds, books galore, and lots of sensory play for younger children. I was very excited to come and do an event here during the summer holidays. It was great to introduce Dick’s books to a younger crowd, with many of the parents in the room being big fans of books ..read more

A few weeks ago, two little pigs from Kew Little Pigs Farm in Amersham, Buckinghamshire attended a special cinema screening of Babe at The Garden Cinema in London’s Covent Garden. Based on Dick’s story The Sheep-Pig, Babe tells the tale of a piglet who learned to herd sheep, and through hard work and politeness, wins first prize at the sheepdog trials. You may think that piglets Bambi and Kingsley would find the glitz and glamour a little intimidating, but they are no strangers to interacting with the public. As well as living at the interactive Kew Little Pigs attraction, the trio regularly a ..read more

A few weeks ago, Dick’s son Giles went to Burford Literary Festival to talk about his dad. Here’s his report – It was great to be invited to take part in the Burford Literary Festival, organised by Kim Harvey of the excellent Mad Hatter Bookshop. The picture shows me talking about Dick to children from Burford Primary School and Southrop School – a really enthusiastic and knowledgeable group of kids, many of whom had read several DKS titles. They were particularly interested to learn about “Ambrose Follows His Nose“, and I left copies of “Ambrose” (paperback edition signed by Dick’s co-author ..read more

What happens when an ordinary rabbit has an extra-ordinary sense of smell? Join Josie Rogers at Bath Children’s Literature Festival to hear how she completed Ambrose Follows His Nose, a story started (but never finished) by her great-grandfather, Dick King-Smith! Book your ticket now! And that’s not all! To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Dick King-Smith’s beloved tale, The Sheep Pig, Josie will be at The Little Theatre Cinema in Bath to introduce a screening of the Academy Award-winning film Babe, the much-loved film adaptation. 1st October 2023, 11am to 12.30pm. Grab your tickets here!&nbs ..read more