One of my favourite children’s authors is the late Dick King-Smith. He wrote many amusing and enjoyable books, but my favourites, by far, are those written about a small girl called Sophie. She is four years old in the first book, but has already decided to be a ‘lady farmer’ when she grows up. She’s unconventional and outspoken, and altogether delightful.
I have read the Sophie series to small friends, usually taking several sessions for each of the six books. However my three-year-old grandson has an almost endless capacity for books. When I started reading him ‘Sophie’s Adventures’, the omnibus edition containing the first three books in the series, he kept asking for ‘another chapter’, so I read the entire thing over the course of about two days. I was only allowed to stop at the end of each individual book.
The three books included are ‘Sophie’s Snail’, ‘Sophie’s Tom’ and ‘Sophie hits Six’. We see Sophie’s progress towards her aim, as she gradually acquires quite a menagerie of animals: woodlice and a snail at first, but her stock gradually increases, rather to the dismay (at times) of her parents. She has older twin brothers called Matthew and Mark, who tease her but are basically benign, even if they’re more interested in football than animals.
Over the course of the book, Sophie becomes very close to her great-great aunt Al, who lives in the Scottish highlands. She starts school, where she’s disappointed not to have any farming lessons, and where she considers most of the children to be ‘mowldy, stupid and assive’, as she terms it. She cultivates friendships with one or two boys who can be useful to her, but she’s not a manipulative or selfish child; just single-minded.
The writing is good, with some parts that are more amusing for adults reading the book than for the intended audience. It makes such a good read-aloud that I assume it was intended that way, for children who are ready for short chapter books with regular line drawings. Of course slightly older fluently reading children could tackle it for themselves, but some might not want to read about a girl who is only four at the start of the series.
Very highly recommended.
Review copyright 2017 Sue's Book Reviews
Any time I go into a charity shop, I glance at the children’s fiction, and often pick up classic picture books, or longer books by authors I like. I’ve been keen on the late Dick King-Smith’s writing since I first came across some of his books when my sons were small, some twenty-five years ago. He was a farmer before he started writing, and had an excellent way with words: gentle humour, a great deal of anthropomorphism, and enjoyable stories.
One of the books I picked up at some point was ‘Mr Ape’. I hadn’t ever read it, but this morning my three-year-old grandson asked me to read it to him. He enjoys longer stories with a few line drawings; I’m not always certain he understands everything, and sometimes he decides after a few chapters that a book isn’t very interesting. But this one piqued his interest, and over the course of the day I read the whole thing. At 127 pages it took me well over an hour in all, divided into about three sessions.
Mr Ape isn’t, as I had thought, a monkey of some kind, but an elderly man who lives on his own in a large stately home. He loves animals, but his wife had never allowed him to have any, and he went along with her wishes for a peaceful life. Now his children have grown up and left home, and his wife has decided to leave him. It’s not a very auspicious start to a children’s book, but it’s only mentioned in passing.
We meet Mr Ape - a nickname, formed from the initials of his three impressive names - when he’s moved his bed to the warm and spacious kitchen, and has closed off the fifteen upstairs bedrooms as well as most of the living areas downstairs. He cooks for himself, mostly the kind of food he liked as a child, and has decided that it would be a good idea to keep some hens, so that he doesn’t have to buy any eggs.
This leads him to selling all his furniture, and making his former drawing room into a large and comfortable home for a dozen hens… and this is just the start of his venture into animal-keeping. Along the way he meets the Romany travellers Joe and his son Jake, both of whom love animals, and whom he employs to look after the extensive gardens, eventually becoming very friendly with them.
Each chapter is somewhat complete in itself, as Mr Ape gradually acquires more and more animals, until about two-thirds of the way through when an enjoyable party turns into a disaster that changes the course of his life.
It’s not the kind of book I’d have expected a three-year-old to enjoy, but my grandson was mesmerised, repeatedly asking for ‘another chapter!’ each time I finished one and paused for breath. The writing is good; I skipped a couple of words here and there, and one or two over-lengthy descriptions, but overall I liked the book very much.
Recommended to fluent readers, or as a good read-aloud for any child who likes to listen to this kind of book. There are simple line drawings every two or three pages, and the chapters are fairly short (there are thirteen in all) with a good pace, and an exciting climax. I read the last six chapters in one sitting, as I wanted to know what was going to happen.
(Note: in between first reading the book and publishing this review, my grandson requested 'Mr Grape' to be read to him several more times. It continued to be enjoyable, if somewhat less so after repeated re-readings over several days...)
Review copyright 2017 Sue's Book Reviews
I did enjoy Dick King Smith's stories when my sons were little, and am enjoying them all over again with some young friends. I was able to buy some of them in a charity shop a year ago, and have picked up others inexpensively online.
I did actually read 'Sophie's Lucky' to myself last Summer when I had bought it, and have just finished reading it out loud to a six-year-old friend. This volume is the last of the six children's books about the small but determined Sophie who wants to be a lady farmer when she grows up.
In this story, Sophie and her family go to stay with Sophie's Great-great Aunt Al in the Highlands. Seven-year-old Sophie, who has recently learned to ride, falls in love with a shaggy pony called Lucky. They have a wonderful holiday, and Sophie is all the more determined that she wants to live on a farm when she is older.
Then, a few weeks after returning home, they have some bad news. It was the kind of thing which I found a little surprising in a children's book - but it is sensitively handled, and leads to an unexpected and exciting surprise which gives a most satisfying conclusion to this series.
Although the Sophie books could be tackled by any reasonably confident reader of about six and above, there is quite a bit of satire and other humour that is all the better for being read aloud, and which might not be noticed or understood by a young child. The language is not dumbed down in any way, yet it's written in a fairly simple style that children seem to enjoy. I certainly did!
Best read as the last in the series, but it does also stand alone.
Note that it's sometimes possible to purchase a combined 'further adventures' of Sophie, which includes not just this book, but the fourth and fifth in the series too.
Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 30th December 2011
I've enjoyed many books by the late Dick King-Smith since I first discovered them when my sons were little, twenty odd years ago. In many of them, his characters are anthropomorphic animals, but my favourite of his books are the series of six about Sophie, the small but determined girl who wants to be a 'lady farmer' when she grows up.
'Sophie is seven' is fifth in the 'Sophie' series. A little confusingly, she is six for the majority of the book, and only attains her seventh birthday in the final chapters. I have just finished reading this book to a six-year-old friend, who enjoyed it very much, as did I.
In this book, Sophie tries to start serious fund-raising for her future farm. She gets quite the wrong idea about doing a sponsored walk and becomes rather wet in the process. We also follow her at school where she tries to make her teacher better informed when the class topic is 'farming', goes on a field trip, stars unexpectedly in a school play... and eventually, due to the generosity of her great-great-aunt Al, she starts riding lessons.
The characterisation in these books is wonderful, with Sophie being easy to relate to, and very likeable. She has strong moral principles, although she is rather scathing about people she considers to be wimpy. Her twin brothers tease her but are fond of her deep down, and her parents must sometimes wonder just how they produced such a unique and intriguing small person....
Best read after the other Sophie books (the first three of which are contained in the omnibus Sophie's Adventures, and the fourth is 'Sophie in the Saddle'). However, this stands alone too and could be read by itself.
I would recommend this for any children from the age of about five upwards. Independent readers would not find it particularly difficult, but there is sufficient humour and irony that it makes an extremely enjoyable book to read aloud.
Note that while this book is not currently in print by itself, there is an omnibus edition, 'Sophie's Further Adventures', which includes this along with two other books.
Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 29th November 2011
I've enjoyed Dick King-Smith's writing ever since I first discovered him when my sons were younger. So I'm delighted to have the opportunity to re-visit some of his books to read aloud to a current six-year-old friend.
I finished the omnibus 'Sophie's Adventures' a few weeks ago, and was immediately asked if I would continue with the next in the series, 'Sophie in the Saddle'. I was happy to oblige, and we finished it today.
Sophie is a small but determined girl - age six in this story - who wants to be a farmer when she grows up. In this book, Sophie's family acquire and name a dog, Sophie learns to swim, and the family go on holiday to Cornwall. Sophie is very excited to be staying on a farm, and has the opportunity to start learning to ride.
These books are intended for children of about five to ten, either as read-alouds, or for reasonably confident readers to read on their own. I happen to think they work better as read-alouds, as there is humour in the book which can be appreciated by adults - it's not all childish. We can probably all recognise a bit of Sophie in children we have known, as she's a realistic, stubborn and outspoken girl with great purpose in life, even at such a young age.
The stories are gentle, the chapters short, and the characterisation excellent. Definitely recommended for any child of about five and over. The book stands alone but is more fun when read after the earlier books in the series.
Not currently in print as a stand-alone, although it can often be found second-hand. There's an omnibus edition (Sophie's Further Adventures) which contains this and the two subsequent books in the series.
Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 27th September 2011
When my sons were small, I was delighted to discover a large number of books by the late Dick King-Smith, who was a farmer before he became a writer. Many of his books feature anthropomorphic animals, and are very cleverly written. But my favourite series was that about Sophie, the small but determined girl who wants to be a farmer when she grows up.
Somehow we managed to lose our copies of the books, but I started collecting them again recently. And when it became clear that a friend's daughter would enjoy having them read aloud to her, I decided to buy a copy of 'Sophie's Adventures', which is an omnibus edition of the first three of the books in the series - two of which I had not been able to find.
In 'Sophie's Snail', the first book in the series, we meet four-year-old Sophie who already has a strong character and a deep love for animal life. We also meet her amusing twin brothers Matthew and Mark who tease her but are very fond of their sister, deep down. Sophie starts to save up for her farm, and adopts a wide variety of small creatures from her garden which she keeps in a shed.
In 'Sophie's Tom', second in the series, Sophie meets a black cat on her fifth birthday, which also happens to be Christmas Day. Her parents do not in the least want a cat, but Sophie has other ideas... Sophie starts school in this book, too, and has some amusing clashes with her teacher and classmates.
In 'Sophie hits Six', the book which I did have already, Sophie gets more used to school, visits a farm show, and works on persuading her parents that the family should have a dog...
There is lots of great characterisation, in these books, with humour that appeals to adults as well as the more earthy kind for children. There's even some gentle educational material about farms and animals in general.
The reading level is not particularly high; a fluent reader of seven or eight or so would probably enjoy these books, but they're so well written that I think they're much more fun read aloud to a child of about four or older.
Definitely recommended.
Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 13th September 2011
I was delighted to discover the books by Dick-King Smith when my sons were younger. The writing is good with a tinge of humour, the characters are real, and - since the author was a farmer before he started writing books - he knows a great deal about animals too.
'Sophie's Lucky' is the last of the six 'Sophie' books by this prolific writer. The series is about a small and determined girl who wants to be a lady farmer. She has older twin brothers who tease her, and parents who don't entirely understand her. But they encourage her in her interests, knowing that she will almost certainly realise her ambition one day.
In this story, seven-year-old Sophie and her family have the excitement of a holiday in Scotland to stay with the elderly Great-Aunt Al. Sophie and Aunt Al have been the best of friends for some time, and have rather similar personalities. Sophie totally falls in love with a pony she is lent during the holiday.
The ending of the book is both sad and encouraging, and brings a most satisfactory conclusion to this delightful series for small children.
(I wrote another review of 'Sophie's Lucky' 18 months later when reading it aloud to a small friend)
Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 20th August 2010
When my sons were small, in the early 1990s, I enjoyed reading them my own childhood favourite books. I also liked discovering some new children's authors. Of all the writers in the latter category, my absolute favourite was Dick King-Smith. We had kept several of his books, but had somehow managed to give away (or lose) one of my favourite series of his, the 'Sophie' books about a small but determined girl who wants to be a lady farmer.
So I was delighted to find four of them, at 50p each, in good condition, at the Book Den in Burgess Hill. On Monday, I picked up and read 'Sophie hits six'. In this book Sophie's cat Tom has to acquire a new name, as she gives birth to kittens. Sophie has to give them away... but in return for one of them, is given a different kind of animal.
I love the character of Sophie who is remarkably like one or two other small and determined girls I have known. I'd recommend this as a read-aloud for children of about four or above who have got used to books with short chapters; it doesn't have to be read after the two earlier books (Sophie's Snail and Sophie's Tom) since it's complete in itself, although it's probably best to read them all in order.
It's interesting enough, too, that it could be read by any child of four or older who is reading reasonably fluently; the language is fairly simple, the text bigger than that of an adult book, and there are some delightful line drawings scattered throughout. And yet the characters are so real that it can be enjoyed by people of any age.
Definitely recommended.
Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 12th April 2010
I had never heard of Dick King-Smith until my older son was about six, and starting to borrow books from his school library. I was immediately captivated. Apparently King-Smith was a soldier, a farmer and a teacher before he became a writer. Reading his books, it's clear that all his previous careers have influenced his writing. Several of them take place on farms, with normal events taking place alongside the rather unlikely ones. The animals have characters and conversations, but they remain animals, with the inherent traits and behaviour of their species.
Wanting something completely different to read, I sat down with this for an hour this evening. 'The Fox busters' was Dick King Smith's first published novel for children. It is the story of a strategic battle between the Foxearth fowls and their deadly enemies the long-noses, otherwise known as foxes.
Unfortunately the local farmers have not always been as careful as they could have been, so over the years any weaker or less intelligent fowl have been caught and eaten by the foxes who live near by. Those who remain are not just a little stronger than average, however; the theory of evolution by survival of the fittest is taken to logical extremes in this story.
These hens have developed remarkable flying abilities, and are a great deal more intelligent than hens are in general. They think for themselves, and have even learned to read. Some of the youngsters in the flock are not only strong flyers, but confident and co-ordinated, able to give displays of aeronautic acrobatics.
Meanwhile, four particularly intelligent foxes have also evolved; these four long for a taste of chicken, and so come up with a terrible plan, which is initially successful. The climax of the book is exciting, but not unrealistic (within the parameters of the story) since some of the hens and one important character are lost in a dramatic battle.
This book is intended for children of about seven to ten. As it's full of action with some fighting, it would probably appeal more to boys than to girls. There is some overt violence which might upset a more sensitive child; nevertheless it reflects realistically the cruelty of nature, and is not over-gory or sentimental.
The ending is mostly encouraging, though bitter-sweet. By the time the book reaches the final, climactic battle I had lost all sympathy with the foxes, despite their cleverness, but I was sorry about one loss amongst the fowl. I would advise parents wanting to read this aloud to much younger children to check the first chapter and the last two beforehand.
For most children, however, this would be an enjoyable read. The language is straightforward without being condescending or 'easy'. My sons both read it when they were about eight or nine, and have re-read it since, when wanting something quick and mildly amusing (as have I!). The inherent humour in the idea of hens laying hard eggs as weapons will appeal to people of all ages, and there is also a lot of other subtle humour which appeals more to adults and older children than to little ones.
Definitely recommended.
One of my favourite modern children's authors - whom I only discovered when my sons were small - is Dick King-Smith. Most of his books are about animals endowed with rather human characteristics, and are full of gentle humour and great characterisation.
One of my favourites, which I found lying around and picked up to re-read, is 'The Sheep-Pig'. It's the story of Babe, a highly intelligent piglet who has ambitions to be a sheepdog. He is a remarkably diplomatic and polite pig, who treats sheep with respect and thus is as successful - if not more so - than most sheepdogs.
It's a lovely story with some humour, excitement and tension, and (of course) a happy ending. Highly recommended to read aloud to younger children, or for reasonably confident readers of about six or seven. But be aware that there are some clear indications of how pigs are treated at farms, in the early chapters.
This book was made into a film: 'Babe' which is suitable for all the family, and keeps reasonably close to the book. We saw it in the cinema a long time ago, and all enjoyed it. However, afterwards my older son, aged about eight at the time, insisted that he would never eat any 'pig meat' again. He kept to his resolution, rather to my surprise, and became fully vegetarian in his teens.
