Chewing the Cud

by Dick King-Smith

Dick's story begins with his apprenticeship on a farm before World War II, his war experiences and his childhood romance with the girl he later married. Then come the 14 years he spent on Woodlands Farm where the eccentric cast of animals and humans provided a wealth of material for his later writing. When the farm failed, Dick settled into teaching before blossoming into a writer in his 50s, and finding international fame with the release of the film "Babe".

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Animals, Audiobook, Autobiography

Paperback

First published September 6, 2001

About the author

Dick King-Smith was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England, surrounded by pet animals. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to teaching and then to writing children's books.

Dick writes mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoys writing for children, meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment from what he does.

Among his well-loved books is Babe, The Gallant Pig, which was recently made into a major motion picture, and was nominated for an Academy Award.

Dick lived with his wife in a small 17th-century cottage, about three miles from the house where he was born.

Reviews

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all of the books that Mr. King-Smith has written, this autobiography is very much my favourite. What a delightful man. Not perfect, but aware and honest. He made me feel nostalgic for a life that I have never known. A few quips and quotes:

"Hindsight makes Clever Dicks of us all."

"As for intelligence, when next you get a chance, look closely into a pig's eye. The expression in the eye of a dog is trusting, of a cat supercilious, of a cow ruminative, of a sheep vacuous. But the look in the eye of a pig is, quite simply, knowing. Other beasts think, This human is looking at me. The pig thinks, I am looking at this human. There is all the difference in the world."

"A tremendous noise and kerfuffle had me dashing back out again with my mouth full." (I just had to record this because I adore the word kerfuffle.)

"The nicest thing about my last career as a writer is the thousands of letters that I get from children, all over the world, who take the trouble to write and tell me that they've enjoyed my books. Sometimes too a mother or a teacher will write to say that Jack or Jill was not really interested in reading until he, or she, was turned on by one of my stories. That's very rewarding."

"Looking back at my life so far, there's only one thing to be said, in just the same quiet tones of satisfaction that Farmer Hogget used, at the end of the Grand Challenge Sheep-dog Trials: "That'll do."

[Sarah Lodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book surprised me. I absolutely loved it. I got taken right back to a time before tractors and cars when farms were smaller and the farmers knew their stock by name. The goat on the bed cracks me up. The giant Shire horse 'Flower' who hated buses, and the others who hated gates and pigs. Dick King-Smith is a master storyteller.

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Alas, regardless of their doom, the little victims play'

'Post mortem - constipation due to eating earth'

'...surly, shambling, soap-shy man'

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dick King-Smith is such a great story teller! The author reads the audio version. Great for a recent road trip ( although there were moments of hysterical laughter which made it hard to see to drive!).

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

575 - 2019

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kalwinder Dhindsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an inspirational man Dick King-Smith was.

What a Legend.

What a Legacy.

Magic.

A Great Read.

That'll Do 👌🏽

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet. Sort of like listening to a grandpa tell you his life story.

[Billy Llewellen Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, nostalgic and honest

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly a pleasant and amusing read. I especially enjoyed the animal stories. I listened to the audiobook and it was fun to hear the author’s voice read his own stories.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable for someone who likes books on writing and farming. That'll do.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weird combination of war, romance, and farm stories written in a style appropriate for children but containing quite a bit of subject matter that would not be appropriate for, or would be upsetting to, children.

While there are a few actual biographical details about King-Smith's life as a child, courtship and marriage, and he mentions the name of his kids, but really it's pretty much a detailing of how every animal he ever met died. Plus a few bawdy mating tales and a drunken cocktail party for good measure.

I have to suppose this is a token book for fans of King-Smith's children's books, but I don't see how they would like it.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun autobiography. I enjoy getting glimpses of other peoples lives. It was brief and focused on his life on the farm with the animals and how he became a successful writer. I enjoyed his sense of humor and his honesty with his failings and how eventually it all worked out for him. I want to read some of his books to the kids.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful book that paints a picture of rural England by one of my favorite authors. His stories about living on a farm as a "not so profitable" farmer are refreshing and show a reverence to those who can make a living in agriculture. It's a nice step away from some more recent accounts of farm life by people determined to have their Starbucks while driving a John Deere.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fun for animal-lovers, readers, writers, and fans of the classic book/movie, Babe. The stories Dick King-Smith shares were reminiscent to me of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small books--truly enjoyable.

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did, but it was strangely dull and many of the stories King-Smith recounted weren't particularly interesting. From bits and pieces, he sounds like he had an interesting life, but these stories poorly represent it.

[Sheri Radford · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet memoir from the author of Babe.

[Bionic Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Autobiography of Dick King-Smith. Bit depressing.

[Megan Q. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining.

[Danyele Kirch]

this book was meant for briana i think its her soul mate