Clive King, Edward Ardizzone (Illustrator)

Stig of the Dump

60th Anniversary Edition

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Summary

Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child.

The Thing sitting in the corner seemed to be interested. It got up and moved towards Barney, into the light. Barney was glad to see it was Somebody after all. Funny way to dress though, he thought, rabbit-skins round the middle and no shoes or socks.

Barney spends a lot of time by himself, and often goes wandering off alone. One day he is exploring by the edge of an old chalk-pit, when it gives way. Finding himself in some sort of cave, Barney is astonished to discover a 'somebody' living there: somebody with a lot of shaggy hair and two bright black eyes, wearing a rabbit skin and speaking in grunts.

Barney names him Stig, and the two quickly become best friends. Of course nobody believes Barney when he tells his family all about Stig. But Barney doesn't care. He and Stig are far too busy having a brilliant series of unforgettable adventures.

Much-beloved by children for generations, Stig of the Dump is the ultimate story about the joyful freedom of mucking around outdoors, having fun away from the grown-ups . . . !

"This lovely story about the unlikely friendship between Barney and stone-age Stig has stood the test of time . . . contemporary children will love reading about the pair's lively adventures" - Booktrust

About the authors

Clive King

Clive King was born in Richmond, Surrey, in 1924. When he was young his family moved to a village called Ash, near Sevenoaks in Kent, which is the setting for Stig of the Dump. He was educated at King's School, Rochester; Downing College, Cambridge and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. During the war he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and this, combined with his later work as a language teacher for the British Council, took him all over the world. Clive King attempted to learn fourteen languages including Tamil, Bengali, Gaelic and Anglo-Saxon. He said he was not incredibly successful with any of them, but many of his books deal with language difficulties of one sort or another.

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Edward Ardizzone (Illustrator)

Edward Ardizzone (1900-1979) illustrated over 200 books and was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal for Tim All Alone. He was awarded the CBE in 1971.

Edward Ardizzone was born in 1900 and brought up in Suffolk. As a young boy he was fascinated by the vibrancy of the small Suffolk ports such as Ipswich, then frequented by the coastal steamers that travelled from port to port, which later became his inspiration for his Little Tim series. He was appointed official war artist in 1940 by Sir Kenneth Clark, director of the National Gallery, London, 1933-1945. Between 1929 and his death in 1979 Ardizzone illustrated a large number of books, including Graham Greene’s The Little Train series, and wrote and illustrated many more including the well-loved Little Tim series, and with his cousin Christianna Brand, created Nurse Matilda, later familiar to many as Nanny McPhee.