R.I.P. Dick King-Smith

Dick King-Smith has been a favourite in these parts for a long time now. At one point, my older kid was totally nuts about his many stories about pigs and assorted farmyard animals and so we actively hunted out every book of his we could in our local library and also in those of the neighbouring boroughs.

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The Sophie Stories, a set of six books spread over four years, is usually our top birthday gift option for any girl turning five, six or seven. Sophie is full of spunk and is instantly relate-able. She loves animals and is 'very determined' about things, especially the fact that she will become a lady farmer when she grows up. She has twin older brothers, annoying yet loving. Beware though - for a while after the books have been read, your little girl might, like mine had, insist that she is 'very determined' about things!

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The Sheep-Pig is probably his most widely recognised work. Babe, the movie based on the book was a hit. We watched a superb play adaptation of the book in Regents Park one summer and even my then two-year old thoroughly enjoyed it - as obvious from her sitting through all of the two hours.

The book is about a piglet called Babe who is won by Farmer Hogget at a local fair and who is adopted by Fly, the farm sheep-dog. Babe is a caring creature and believes that being nice is a better idea than getting things done by bullying and aggression. He soon becomes an expert ‘sheep-pig’. After a series of adventures which will keep the reader hooked to the book, Babe ends up in sheep-dog trials where the winning animal is the one who will most effectively herd a flock of sheep around various obstacles and tasks. What happens next is the rest of this heart-warming story.

R.I.P. Mr.King-Smith. You will be missed.