Clive King facts for kids

David Clive King (born April 28, 1924 – died July 10, 2018) was a British author. He is most famous for his children's book Stig of the Dump, published in 1963.

Clive King served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve during the last years of World War II. After the war, he worked for the British Council. This job took him to many different countries. His travels later gave him ideas for his exciting novels.

Life and Writing Journey

Clive King was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, on April 28, 1924. He grew up in Ash, Kent. He went to King's School, Rochester and then to Downing College, Cambridge. He studied English there.

Adventures Around the World

From 1943 to 1946, Clive King was a Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy. His service took him to many places. He visited the Arctic, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Malaysia, and Japan. In Japan, he saw the city of Hiroshima after it had been devastated.

After the Navy, King started working for the British Council. This organization helps share British culture and education around the world. His job sent him to many different countries. He lived in places like Amsterdam, Syria, Lebanon, and India. He also studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Later, he worked as an education adviser in Bangladesh.

Becoming a Full-Time Author

Clive King loved writing from a young age. He once said his very first story was a script for a Western movie! He wrote for his school and college magazines. His first book, Hamid of Aleppo, came out in 1958.

He wrote a few more books, including The Town that Went South (1959) and Stig of the Dump (1963). He also wrote The 22 Letters (1966). In 1973, he decided to become a full-time writer.

Clive King wrote twenty more novels after 1972. But Stig of the Dump remained his most famous work. This book has been made into a TV show twice. It is still taught in many schools across Britain today.

King was also invited to summer camps for young readers. He met children who loved books from the Puffin Book Club. Other popular children's authors also attended these camps.

Clive King was married twice and had three children. He lived in Thurlton, Norfolk.

How Places Inspired His Stories

Clive King often said that his travels greatly influenced his writing. He explained, "Each of the things which I have written has been inspired by a particular place which I have visited or lived in." He always tried to make the settings in his books feel real. These settings then shaped the stories and what happened in them.

You can see this influence in many of his books. For example, The Night The Water Came is set on a tropical island. Snakes and Snakes takes place in India. And The 22 Letters is set in the Middle East.

Hamid of Aleppo

Hamid of Aleppo (1958) is a story about a Syrian Golden Hamster named Hamid. The book was illustrated by Giovannetti. Hamid doesn't know what kind of animal he is. Other animals he meets tell him different things. A camel calls him a desert rat, and a tortoise says he's a fat cat without a tail.

Hamid loves digging new tunnels in his home. He lives in the side of a hill. While digging, he finds many interesting "Things." When Hamid leaves his tunnel home, he takes these "Things" with him. After many adventures and meeting other travelers, Hamid digs a tunnel that leads him to a museum office. The museum director explains to Hamid that he is a Syrian Golden Hamster. The director also tells him that his "Things" are actually very old objects from the past. Hamid gives his "Things" to the museum and is rewarded for his discovery.

Stig of the Dump

Stig of the Dump (1963) is one of Clive King's most loved books. It was illustrated by Edward Ardizzone. The story is about a boy who finds a Stone-Age cave-dweller. This cave-dweller, named Stig, lives at the bottom of an old chalk pit in Kent. The pit is used as an unofficial rubbish dump.

The book doesn't use magic or time travel. It's simply about a boy and his unusual friend from the Stone Age. Stig of the Dump has been printed many times. It has also been made into a television series twice. It continues to be a popular book taught in British schools.

The 22 Letters

The 22 Letters (1966) was illustrated by Richard Kennedy. This book was the 250th title published by Puffin Books. The story takes place around 1500 BC in the eastern Mediterranean region.

It follows the adventures of three brothers. They are the sons of a Phoenician master builder. The story has three parts, loosely connected. The brothers travel to Egypt, to the court of King Minos in Crete, and to Ugarit. They discover or learn about three important things: how to navigate by the stars, how to ride horses, and how to use alphabetic writing. When they return home, they use these new skills to save their city from invasion.

When it was first published, The 22 Letters was considered a very long children's book, with over 300 pages. However, people admired its detailed research and wide scope.