London Zoo, 1928
Published on Wednesday, May 1st, 2024
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 […]
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Hungerford Primary School
Published on Thursday, March 28th, 2024
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 […]
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Dick’s Birthday
Published on Wednesday, March 27th, 2024
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.
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Read Me A Story
Published on Monday, February 26th, 2024
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 […]
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That’ll Do Pig
Published on Wednesday, January 31st, 2024
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 […]
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School Visits
Published on Wednesday, January 24th, 2024
Over the years, Dick visited a great many schools. He really enjoyed reading some of his stories to the children, answering their questions and giving away some of his books for their libraries. Although we no longer have Dick, Dick’s family have carried on this tradition, with Dick’s son Giles King-Smith, elder daughter Juliet King-Smith, […]
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Batts School In Witney
Published on Saturday, November 11th, 2023
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 […]
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Discover Children’s Story Centre
Published on Tuesday, October 31st, 2023
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 […]
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Two Little Piglets Visit The Cinema
Published on Wednesday, October 11th, 2023
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 […]
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Burford Literary Festival
Published on Friday, October 6th, 2023
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 […]
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