Animal Stories Eight Stories about Babe and other Animals - Hardcover

King-Smith, Dick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531300994 ISBN 13: 9780531300992

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1998

Synopsis

The beloved sheep pig, star of the Universal motion picture and best-selling novel, leads the way in an illustrated treasury of eight barnyard adventures, old and new, including the story of Babe's first day on the job.

About this title

About the Author:

DICK KING-SMITH has been a farmer and a teacher. His first book THE FOX BUSTERS, was published in 1978, and he has been writing books for children ever since. He is one of the most popular writers of fiction for children today. SOPHIE ALDRED hasstarred in WOW, It's a Mystery, Words and Pictures, and as ACE, in DOCTOR WHO. MARK WILLIAMS, is most famous for his many roles in THE FAST SHOW, and recently starred in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE.

From Publishers Weekly:

More fun than a barrel of monkeys, these eight previously published tales by the author of the beloved Babe: The Gallant Pig bubble over with good cheer. Perhaps the pick of the litter is "Fat Lawrence," about an enormous black cat whose regular rounds of four adoring families add greatly to his girth, and whose efforts to slim down backfire when the feline of his dreams states a preference for "really well-covered types." Romance is again in the air in "The Happiest Woodlouse," when a wimp named Walter finally musters his courage and wins the heart of his lady-love Marilyn by saving her from being a bird snack (she promptly goes "weak at the knees, all fourteen of them"). King-Smith's penchant for P.G. Woodhouse-like names is in high gear throughout, from a pair of soon-to-be-parent mice named Ethel and Hedley to upper-crust feline fancier Colonel Barclay-Lloyd. With a wink at Oscar Wilde, the prize for best title goes to the waggish "The Excitement of Being Ernest," in which an affable mutt faces down the snobs at the village dog show and walks off with top honors. Terry's art, unfortunately, tends to caricature the animals in a manner at odds with King-Smith's genial prose; the crude depiction of Babe is especially disappointing. Although the pictures dull its luster, this upbeat medley is still a treat for animal lovers of all ages. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0531300994
• ISBN 13: 9780531300992
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128
• Illustrator: Terry Michael