The Excitement of Being Ernest

by Dick King-Smith

The Excitement of Being Ernest (Yellow storybooks) - Dick King-Smith - Paperback - B12-S3

47 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

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

[Aine Mccarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘The Excitement of being Ernest’ by Dick King Smith is an endearing tale about a dog named Ernest who doesn’t know what type of dog he is. In his quest to discover more about himself he asks the other ‘well bred’ dogs in the neighbourhood about themselves in the hope that they will comment on his own breed. Most of the other dogs are foreigners and it is not until Ernest meets the English Setter that he finally learns his breed, a Gloucestershire Cow-Dog. The following week Ernest’s owner enters him in a dog show. At first Ernest is excited but this soon changes when he hears the other dogs’ mutterings about Ernest’s suitability for the dog show. Encouraged by his friend the English Setter, Ernest tries his best in the competition and succeeds in winning over the judge through his loving and kind manner. When he is judged the winner he is overjoyed. This book holds a clear message about equality and emphasizes that it is what is on the inside counts. It also demonstrates how we can be motivated to do something that we may not want to do by listening to our friends’ words of encouragement and advice. The book is a suitable book for Year 3 able readers or Year 4 less able readers.