Dick King-Smith

Dick King-Smith (27 March 1922 – 4 January 2011), 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.

Dick King-Smith
Born	Ronald Gordon King-Smith (1922-03-27)27 March 1922 Bitton, Gloucestershire, England
Died	4 January 2011(2011-01-04) (aged 88) Bath, Somerset, England
Pen name	Dick King-Smith
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	British
Period	1978–2007
Spouse	Myrle (m. 1943–2000) Zona Bedding (m. 2001–2011)
Children	3

Early life

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. King-Smith was a soldier in World War II. He was a member of the Grenadier Guards in Italy.

Personal life

He married his first wife, Myrle, in 1943. They had 3 children and 14 grandchildren. Myrle died in 2000. King-Smith then married Zona Bedding, a family friend. 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

King-Smith died on 4 January 2011 at his home in Bath, Somerset. He was 88 years old.

Writing

• 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

• 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

Other websites

• 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