DICK KING-SMITH was a Gloucestershire farmer until the age of 45, when he gave up farming to become a primary school teacher. As a bestselling full-time author, his work received many awards including a Bronze Medal for the Smarties Prize of l997 for All Because of Jackson and the Children's Book Award in l995 for Harriet's Hare. In l992, he was also voted Children's Author of the Year. In l995, his top-selling title The Sheep-Pig was developed into a box-office movie, BABE, introducing hundreds of thousands of youngsters to his work. He died in 2011.

Dick King-Smith has brought magic into the lives of millions of children