07 January 2011

Goodbye to Dick King-Smith

Well, here's a kick in the teeth. I just read in School Library Journal that British author Dick King-Smith died on Tuesday, 4 January. He was 88. It's not right to feel cheated by the death of an 88 year old man--that's a long life (and if you read his autobiography, Chewing the Cud, you will know that it was a varied life which he enjoyed to the fullest.) But Dick King-Smith is an author that I discovered as an adult, right about the time that my interest in children's literature was reignited. So for me, his loss feels personal.

Dick King-Smith will be most widely known as the author of  The Sheep-Pig, which became the film Babe. But he wrote many, many books, and they all deserve a look. You can read a run-down of some of my favorites, here.

And for another look at the film Babe--which can still make me weep tears of joy at the end!--check out the trailer.


2 comments:

Spectrum Mom said...

Oh no! I never sent him a fan letter! His just slightly out of the norm animals often worked for my son with autism. I hope he had a wonderful life and a peaceful end.

Kara Schaff Dean said...

I read that he did in his sleep, which seems to me the best way to go. If you can find his autobiography, "Chewing the Cud", I really recommend reading it. His was a life lived well.

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