Dick King-Smith
Dick King-Smith | |
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Born | Ronald Gordon King-Smith 27 March 1922 Bitton, Gloucestershire, England |
Died | 4 January 2011 Bath, Somerset, England | (aged 88)
Pen name | Dick King-Smith |
Occupation | Novelist |
Nationality | British |
Period | 1978–2007 |
Spouse |
Myrle (m. 1943–2000)Zona Bedding (m. 2001–2011) |
Children | 3 |
Dick King-Smith (27 March 1922 – 4 January 2011),[1] was an English author. He wrote many children's books. The most popular was The Sheep-Pig. This book was called Babe the Gallant Pig in the United States. The book was made into the movie Babe.
Early life
[change | change source]King-Smith was born on 27 March 1922 in Bitton, Gloucestershire. He grew up in the West Country. He was a student at Beaudesert Park School and Marlborough College.[1] King-Smith was a soldier in World War II. He was a member of the Grenadier Guards in Italy.
Personal life
[change | change source]He married his first wife, Myrle, in 1943. They had 3 children and 14 grandchildren.[1] Myrle died in 2000. King-Smith then married Zona Bedding, a family friend.[2] He received the Order of the British Empire and an Honorary Master of Education degree.
King-Smith was a farmer for 20 years before he became a teacher and author. King-Smith's first book was The Fox Busters. It was published in 1978. He then wrote over a hundred books. Some have been translated into 12 languages.
Death
[change | change source]King-Smith died on 4 January 2011 at his home in Bath, Somerset. He was 88 years old.[3]
Writing
[change | change source]- The Fox Busters (1978)
- Daggie Dogfoot, retitled in the US as Pigs Might Fly (1980)
- Magnus Powermouse (1982)
- The Queen's Nose (1983)
- The Sheep-Pig (1983)
- Saddlebottom (1985)
- Noah's Brother (1986)
- The Hodgeheg (1987)
- Tumbleweed (1987)
- Farmer Bungle Forgets (1987)
- Friends and Brothers (1987)
- Cuckoobush Farm (1987)
- George Speaks (1988)
- The Mouse Butcher (1988)
- Emily's Legs (1988)
- Water Watch (1988)
- Dodo Comes to Tumbledown Farm (1988)
- Tumbledown Farm - The Greatest (1988)
- The Jenius (1988)
- Ace (1990)
- Sophie book series
- Sophie's Snail (1988)
- Sophie's Tom (1991)
- Sophie Hits Six (1991)
- Sophie in the Saddle (1993)
- Sophie Is Seven (1994)
- Sophie's Lucky (1995)
- Alice And Flower And Foxianna (1989)
- Beware of the Bull (1989)
- The Toby Man (1989)
- Dodos Are Forever (1989)
- The Trouble with Edward (1989)
- Jungle Jingles (1990)
- Blessu (1990)
- Hogsel and Gruntel (1990)
- Paddy's Pot of Gold (1990)
- Alphabeasts (1990)
- The Water Horse (1990)
- The Whistling Piglet (1990)
- The Jolly Witch (1990)
- Mrs. Jollipop (1996)
- Mrs. Jolly's Brolly (1998)
- The Cuckoo Child (1991)
- The Guard Dog (1991)
- Martin's Mice (1991)
- Lightning Strikes Twice (1991)
- Caruso's Cool Cats (1991)
- Dick King-Smith's Triffic Pig Book (1991)
- Find the White Horse (1991)
- Horace and Maurice (1991)
- Lady Daisy (1992)
- Pretty Polly (1992)
- Dick King-Smith's Water Watch (1992)
- The Finger Eater (1992)
- The Ghost At Codlin Castle And Other Stories (1992)
- Super Terrific Pigs (1992)
- The Invisible Dog (1993)
- All Pigs Are Beautiful (1993)
- The Merrythought (1993)
- The Swoose (1993)
- Uncle Bumpo (1993)
- Dragon Boy (1993)
- Horse Pie (1993)
- Harry's Mad (1993)
- Connie and Rollo (1994)
- The School Mouse (1994)
- Triffic: A Rare Pig's Tale (1994)
- Mr. Potter's Pet (1994)
- Harriet's Hare (1994)
- The Excitement of Being Ernest (1994)
- I Love Guinea Pigs (1994)
- Three Terrible Trins (1994)
- Happy Mouseday (1994)
- Bobby the Bad (1994)
- The Clockwork Mouse (1995)
- King Max the Last (1995)
- Omnibombulator (1995)
- The Terrible Trins (1995)
- Warlock Watson (1995)
- All Because of Jackson (1995)
- The Stray (1996)
- Clever Duck (1996)
- Dirty Gertie Macintosh (1996)
- Smasher (1996)
- Godhanger (1996)
- Treasure Trove (1996)
- Mixed-up Max (1997)
- What Sadie Saw (1997)
- The Spotty Pig (1997)
- A Mouse Called Wolf (1997)
- Robin Hood And His Miserable Men (1997)
- Thinderella (1997)
- Puppy Love (1997)
- The Merman (1997)
- Round About 5 (1997)
- Mr Ape (1998)
- How Green Was My Mouse (1998)
- The Big Pig Book (1998)
- Creepy Creatures Bag (1998)
- The Robber Boy (1998)
- The Crowstarver (1998)
- Pig in the City (1999)
- Poppet (1999)
- The Roundhill (2000)
- Spider Sparrow (2000)
- Just in Time (2000)
- The Magic Carpet Slippers (2000)
- Julius Caesar's Goat (2000)
- Mysterious Miss Slade (2000)
- Billy the Bird (2000)
- Lady Lollipop (2000)
- Back to Front Benjy (2001)
- The Great Sloth Race (2001)
- Fat Lawrence (2001)
- Funny Frank (2001)
- Chewing The Cud (Autobiography) (2001)
- Titus Rules! (2002)
- Billy the Bird / All Because of Jackson (2002)
- Story Box (2002)
- The Golden Goose (2003)
- Traffic (2003)
- Clever Lollipop (2003)
- The Adventurous Snail (2003)
- The Nine Lives of Aristotle (2003)
- Aristotle (book)|Aristotle (2003)
- Just Binnie (2004)
- The Catlady (2004)
- Under the Mishmash Trees (2005)
- Hairy Hezekiah (2005)
- Dinosaur Trouble (2005)
- Nosy (2005)
- The Mouse Family Robinson (2007)
TV and movies
[change | change source]- Harry's Mad (1993–1996): TV series based on Harry's Mad
- The Queen's Nose (1995–2003): TV Series based on The Queen's Nose
- Babe (1995): movie based on The Sheep-Pig a.k.a. Babe, the Gallant Pig
- Babe: Pig in the City (1998): movie sequel using King-Smith characters
- The Foxbusters (1999–2000): TV cartoon loosely based on The Fox Busters
- The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007): movie based on The Water Horse
References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Eccleshare, Julia (5 January 2011). "Dick King-Smith obituary". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Animal Magic". The Herald. 2008-02-02. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
- ↑ "Babe creator Dick King-Smith dies aged 88". BBC News. 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
Other websites
[change | change source]- Profile at Puffin Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
- Bibliography Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine from Bookseller World
- Book covers from Fantastic Fiction
- Dick King-Smith on IMDb