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DICK KING-SMITH'S CENTENARY: NATIONAL CHILDREN’S WRITING COMPETITION LAUNCHED IN CELEBRATION
The Dick King-Smith 100 competition invites budding young writers to collaborate with the late, Dick King-Smith, on his latest book, co-written with his great-granddaughterA national children’s writing competition is being launched to celebrate the centenary of the late children’s author, Dick King-Smith.
The Dick King-Smith 100 invites schools and children from across the UK to take part, with the chance for budding young writers to win new editions of Dick’s extensive back-catalogue for their school.The competition launched on 27th March, in honour of the centenary of Dick King-Smith’s birth, and will be open for entries until 31st May 2022.
Dick was the author of beloved children’s books such as The HodgeHeg and The Sheep-Pig, which was adapted into the film Babe. Children will be invited to use their imagination to write 100 words to finish a chapter of Dick’s newly-completed book, Ambrose Follows His Nose, a unique collaborative effort between Dick and his great-granddaughter, Josie Rogers.
Juliet King-Smith, Dick’s daughter commented:“Dick famously published his first children’s book at the age of 56 but he truly believed in the power of storytelling and how books could help promote child literacy. The Dick King-Smith 100 feels like a suitable way to celebrate his centenary and extend his legacy for years to come by encouraging children to use their imagination and write creatively. He adored writing funny animal stories for children, although he would claim it was more for his own amusement than theirs!”
Dick’s unfinished manuscript for Ambrose had sat undiscovered in a box of his possessions since he passed away in 2011. Re-discovered in 2017 by his daughter, it was passed to Josie who completed the story to be published in honour of her great-grandfather’s centenary, crafting her own characters to complement the original tale.
The book, published by Puffin Books and including vibrant and characterful illustrations from Steph Laberis, features a seemingly ordinary rabbit called Ambrose, who has the most extraordinary sense of smell. Ambrose lives with his family in a hutch and is visited every day by Biddy, who is desperate to take him home to be her pet - if only her mum and dad would let her. Biddy trains Ambrose to become a tracker rabbit - which comes in very handy when Ambrose’s little sister Roly goes missing. But when Biddy’s family find themselves in real danger, can Ambrose’s sensitive nose save the day?
To find out more and get involved with Dick King-Smith 100, please visit: www.dickkingsmith.com/dickkingsmith100.