Showing results by author "Dick Smith" in All Categories

Farmer Hoggett wins a piglet at the fair. It should fatten up nicely. However Fly, the sheep-dog trains Babe, the piglet, to herd sheep, making Babe an indispensable sheep-pig.

A BBC radio full-cast dramatisation of Dick King-Smith’s enchanting children’s story about Harmony Parker and her magical 50p coin. Harmony Parker is 10 years old and loves animals. She longs for a pet of her very own, but her parents won’t allow it. All she can do is keep hoping, dreaming and wishing. Then Uncle Ginger comes to visit from India. He and Harmony become friends, and he gives her a very special present. Not a puppy but something even better: a magical 50 pence piece with the power to grant seven wishes. All she has to do is rub the point of the coin opposite the Queen’s nose.

From master storyteller Dick King-Smith, this is the hilarious story of a family turned upside-down by an unusually gifted (and demanding) infant. Laura is amazed when her baby brother George starts talking to her when he's only four weeks old, particularly as he sounds like a grown-up! It's a big secret to keep from their parents and the rest of the family and leads to all sorts of comic confusion until George's first birthday - when he makes a speech to his startled family.

"Isn’t he e-nor-mous!" says the giant father when his first twin son is born. "There’s a-lot-uv-’im!" notes the giant mother when the second twin boy arrives. And as Normus (a vegetarian) and Lottavim (a carnivore) grow and grow, the two are hugely happy - playing Roll the Boulder, singing badly, and doing everything together: waking up, going to sleep, even sneezing. So when they reach the age of 20 and the height of 12 feet, it's not surprising that they each think the same thought at exactly the same time: "It's about time I found a wife!"

Aristotle is a bold little cat who is always getting himself into danger. He lives with a good witch called Bella Donna who thinks he'll make a proper witch's cat one day – if he can live long enough. Like all cats, Aristotle has nine lives – and he needs every single one of them.

When Ned helps his grandmother clear out her attic, he finds a very unusual Victorian doll – she speaks! Ned and Lady Daisy soon become fast friends, even though he's teased at school for owning a doll. Ned learns to stand up to his father and the school bully in order to protect Lady Daisy. But then the doll is stolen – will Ned ever find her again?

When Farmer Buzzard's collie, Kay, has four puppies, he doesn't know what to do. Three are fine puppies, which he can sell, but the fourth is the ugliest puppy ever. No one wants to buy him and, as he grows, it becomes clear he'll never make a sheepdog – and he certainly isn't house-trained! Farmer Buzzard is too kind-hearted to get rid of Smasher, and eventually, when a burglar calls, the big dog has a chance to prove his worth.

Peter is a young boy, living on a farm. One day, whilst out doing chores for his father, he comes across a strange white stick floating in the stream. He reaches out and catches it - and finds an exciting new friend in the process. Ninnyhammer is the local village simpleton, but Peter knows there's more to him than that - he's a magician and the white stick is his magic wand. Ninnyhammer is so grateful that he starts to help Peter and his family with their struggling farm. But Peter wants to do something for Ninnyhammer in return.

When Mr Gray is caught by a cat, Mrs Gray is left alone with her three babies. She remembered her old granny's words, 'The gravest of all mousely sins – is to produce a set of trins!' Trins is another name for triplets, and this is the story of Mrs Gray's boys, Tom, Dick and Harry.

Flora was born on the first day of term in the new school year, which might be why she's a very special mouse indeed – a mouse who has taught herself to read! Flora lives in a classroom, and is determined to learn all sorts of things that no mouse has ever learned before. Her family is horrified at first, but then Flora's reading saves their lives.

Flightless, helpless and often, frankly, more than a little silly, chickens are no match for the cunning, merciless foxes stalking their coop. Or are they? Thanks to a careless farmer and generations of determined foxes, the chickens on Foxearth Farm have evolved into quick-witted, long-legged, high flying fox dodgers. Then, just a week after a vicious fox ambush in the water trough, three sisters are hatched. And Ransome, Sims and Jefferies are no ordinary chicks: they grow up determined to fight back.

Henrietta Hickthrift decides to run away from home - the Old People's Home. Packing just one small suitcase, she sets off on the train to the seaside. But Henry doesn't have much money. In fact by the end of her first day she has exactly one penny. That is when she meets the Goods - Angela, Barney, Eleanor, Rosie, and Rowley - who decide to adopt this unusual stray. But will their parents let them keep her?

Captain, Ladybird and Herbert – two Shire horses and a Suffolk Punch – are not pleased when Jenny, a retired seaside donkey, arrives at the Old Horses' Home. It's supposed to be a home for horses, and they don't want to share their field with a common little donkey. Then rustlers are spotted in the area: thieves who like nothing better than to steal horses and ship them abroad – to be made into horse pie! Can Jenny and her friends save the huge heavy horses?

Best known for his best-selling novel, Babe, which was made into a major motion picture, Dick King-Smith draws on his over 14 years of experience on Woodlands Farm to create this thoughtful and humorous memoir. His time on the farm inspired countless stories as well as the numerous lovable characters found in them. In Chewing the Cud, he candidly talks about what moved him to become a children’s author.

Stand and deliver! Young Tod Golightly is off to find fame and fortune as a highwayman, with help from his four unlikely accomplices: Matilda the wise old donkey, Digby the mastiff, Loudmouth the magpie, and a strong-smelling ferret called Evil. A daring robbery makes Tod the terror of the Great West Road, but the Bow Street Runners are hot on his trail.... A funny, moving story about a boy and his animal friends from best-selling author Dick King-Smith.

Lubber the dog and Squintum the cat join forces with a racing pigeon and a pretty young Irish setter to search for Lubber's home. All he can remember is that he lives in a cottage below a hillside on which is carved a white horse.

From the moment he's left as a foundling in a lambing-pen on Outoverdown Farm, Spider Sparrow is surrounded by animals. Adopted by the kindly shepherd and his wife, Spider comes to know all the farm creatures, including the crows he must scare away from the wheat. Every animal he meets trusts him, and Spider loves them all. It is his unique gift, but nothing else in his life comes so easily.

At the zoo, Jack steals an ostrich egg that's about to be fed to a snake, brings it home to his family's farm, and persuades a pair of geese to be its foster parents.

Lollipop is no ordinary pig. According to her young owner Johnny Skinner, she's the cleverest pig in the whole kingdom. When people stare into Lollipop's eyes, it seems to change them for the better. But will Lollipop win over spoilt Princess Penelope?

Martin, a kitten, is branded a 'wimp' by his siblings for his friendly interest in mice. He loves caring for them and can't understand their desire for freedom. Only when he becomes the pet of a big city apartment dweller does he realise why his pets deserted him.