99 Years Ago!
Published on Saturday, March 27th, 2021
99 years ago TODAY, on 27th March 1922, Dick was born Ronald Gordon King-Smith in Bitton, Gloucestershire, the first child of Grace and Ronald King-Smith. In exactly one year’s time, it will be the centenary of Dick’s birth! To celebrate Dick’s life, his achievements and his many stories (over 130 of which were published), we, […]
Read More
Happy World Book Day 2021!
Published on Thursday, March 4th, 2021
What are you reading for World Book Day? So far this week, I have read Mr Ape, The Toby Man and Find the White Horse. Perhaps Saddlebottom today… There are lots of fun activities, free audiobooks and a selection of £1 books at the World Book Day site, so be sure to give it a […]
Read More
National Pig Day!
Published on Monday, March 1st, 2021
It’s National Pig Day today, 1st March! It is well known that pigs were Dick’s favourite animal, and he wrote many books about them. Pictured above are Dick and Monty, his beloved boar. Have you read any of Dick’s pig stories and factual books, which include The Sheep-Pig (Babe the Gallant Pig), Saddlebottom, Daggie Dogfoot […]
Read More
Meet Zen!
Published on Thursday, January 21st, 2021
Meet Zen, a new King-Smith family dog! He’s 7/8 Staffordshire bull terrier and 1/8 American bulldog. The runt of the litter, his mother sadly stopped feeding him at 4 weeks old, but he’s now 10 weeks old and doing well in a loving home. Do you think his name suits him?
Read More
Meet Fram!
Published on Wednesday, January 13th, 2021
The King-Smith family are feeling very lucky, having quite recently welcomed a new family member; charming dog Fram. Fram is a boy puppy of almost 5 months old. He’s named after the village from which he came – Upper Framilode in Gloucestershire. His breed is half poodle and half lurcher, meaning he has lovely scruffy […]
Read More
Commemorative Bench
Published on Friday, December 18th, 2020
Many years before he became a children’s author, Dick was a farmer. Between 1948 and 1961, the King-Smith family lived at Woodlands Farm, in some beautiful countryside near to the boundary of Westerleigh and Frampton Cotterell parishes in South Gloucestershire. It was here, caring for his many animals, that Dick gained lots of inspiration for […]
Read More
The Sheep-Pig
Published on Friday, December 11th, 2020
Dick’s most famous book, The Sheep-Pig, was first published in 1983. It was years later, in 1995, that technology had advanced enough for The Sheep-Pig to be adapted for the big screen in the form of the Hollywood blockbuster Babe. Above is a sketch on the original manuscript that Dick had typed-up, laboriously, with one […]
Read More
Gorilla Disrupts Book Time
Published on Tuesday, November 24th, 2020
A kind person pointed out this article about Dick and his brother Tony, published in the Bath Chronicle on 2nd August 1988. We thought you might find it amusing… ‘CHILDREN’S author Dick King-Smith had some surprise help from his brother Tony during an afternoon of story-reading at Keynsham Library. Just as 66-year-old Dick was settling […]
Read More
The Queen’s Nose
Published on Sunday, November 15th, 2020
It is 25 years ago today since the BBC’s adaptation of Dick’s novel The Queen’s Nose aired on television! The drama proved to be a huge success and ran for seven series, winning several awards in the process, thanks to the great writing and excellent cast (and a good story, of course!) Dick and the […]
Read More
Frank The Rabbit
Published on Saturday, November 14th, 2020
One of Dick’s most beloved and memorable pets was Frank the French Lop rabbit, seen here being taken for a short walk, or, more realistically, Frank is seen taking Dick for a walk! Not only was Frank very large, he was also quite adventurous. He loved to have a sniff around Dick’s garden at any […]
Read More
