Showing results by author "Dick King-Smith" in All Categories

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.

This wonderfully funny audio collection contains eight adventures from the master of animal tales, Dick King-Smith. Perfect for young listeners, this magical collection features one of Dick King-Smith's most loved stories: The Hodgeheg. Other timeless classics included in this collection are: Poppet, E.S.P, The Mousebutcher, The Merrythought, Lightning Strikes Twice, A Narrow Squeak, and Under the Mishmash Tree.

When Babe, the little orphaned piglet, is won at a fair by Farmer Hogget, he is adopted by Fly, the kind-hearted sheep-dog. Babe is determined to learn everything he can from Fly. He knows he can't be a sheep-dog. But maybe, just maybe, he might be a sheep-pig.

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.

When eight-year-old Kirstie brings home a strange egg from the Scottish shore, her family never expects it to hatch. But the next day, Kirstie discovers a baby sea monster swimming in her bathtub! Part horse, part toad, part turtle and part crocodile, he's the oddest-looking creature Kirstie's family has ever seen. Only Kirstie's grandfather knows what the beastie really is: a Water Horse! This lovable creature is the perfect pet. The only trouble is, he can't stop growing.

Sir Tumbleweed is an unlikely knight – afraid of horses, jousting and dragons. But with help from Arthur the Lion and Spearhead the Unicorn, he floors Sir Basil the Beastly in a jousting match. Will the champion jouster of all England find an obliging damsel in distress?

Harry Holdsworth had never heard of his Great-Uncle George until he inherited the old man’s most cherished possession: an African Grey parrot named Madison. Harry’s first reaction was one of dismay. Who wants a big pet bird – one that could live for another 40 years? But when Mad introduces himself in perfect American, Harry discovers he has found a friend – and more.

Small but very determined Sophie wants to be a lady farmer when she grows up. Down in the potting shed, she has made a start and keeps flocks of free-range wood lice and herds of snails.

The Invisible Dog is the story of a girl who tries to satisfy her yearning for a dog by introducing an imaginary Great Dane called Henry to the house. Her wish comes true, and she is allowed a real Henry - but there's more than a hint that old Mrs Garrow, with her cackling laugh and black cat, may have been involved.

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.

Harmony Parker thought animals much nicer than people, and saw everyone she knew as some non-human species. Her father, for example, was most definitely a bald-headed Sea Lion, her mother a tubby, fussy Pouter Pigeon, and her tiresome older sister a Siamese cat. But Harmony's parents would not allow her to have real pets of any kind – not even a harmless gerbil. Then Uncle Ginger arrived from India and gave Harmony a very special present ...

Dorothea considers it a disgrace that one of her children has the white saddle-shaped patch on his bottom, and not on his back. Life doesn't look too promising for Saddlebottom, until he runs away from home and meets a very unusual cat. With the aid of a ginger tom named Bendigo he proves his mother wrong."

Ever since she was four years old, Sophie has wanted to be a lady farmer. She has been collecting animals, and so far her menagerie consists of snails, centipedes, a white rabbit, a black cat, and a puppy named Puddle. Now Sophie is saving money in her piggy bank to buy her own farm, but when she adds it up she only has $12.60. She must think of ways to raise more funds!

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.

Farmer Tubbs takes a real shine to one particular pig, so much so that he can't bear to send him to market with the other young pigs. Soon Ace is befriended by the farmyard animals including Nanny the goat and Clarence, the cunning white cat. Together they help Ace to find his place in the farmhouse, ousting Megan, the farmer's aristocratic corgi, from her queenly seat – the best parlour chair.

Farmer Skint and his family have fallen on hard times at Woebegone Farm until their goose lays a golden egg. With the birth of Joy the Golden Goose, the fortune of the Skint family begins to change. But what will happen when people find out about their golden-feathered friend? How long can they keep Joy a secret?

There are six puppies in the pet shop window; five posh pedigree puppies, and a scruffy little mongrel with a grand ambition – to be a guard dog. The other pups laugh at him. How can such a small, scruffy dog possibly expect to be bought to guard a home? Especially when his bark is the most horrible, earsplitting racket they have ever heard! Will the poor little guard dog be doomed to a lonely life in the Dogs' Home – or worse ...?

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.

All pterodactyls know that flying dinosaurs are superior, and all apatosauruses know that any dinosaur with only two legs is surely second-class. Nosy, a pterodactyl, and Banty, an apatosaurus, become great friends even though their parents have forbidden them to play together. With Nosy’s fast flying and Banty’s smarts, the two take on the biggest predator on the Great Plain, and conquer their parents’ prejudices in one great adventure.

Smasher is always getting into trouble, whether it's chasing chickens, chewing up Mrs. Buzzard's slippers, or breaking all her china. Now she wants to get rid of him. Can Farmer Buzzard find a way to save him? Or is Smasher in the doghouse...for good?