Clive King's "Stig of the Dump" is a much-loved modern classic. "Stig of the Dump" is 50 years old and the story of Barney and his best friend, cave-man Stig, is as fresh today as it was when first published.

Barney is a solitary little boy, given to wandering off by himself.

One day he is lying on the edge of a disused chalk-pit when it gives way and he lands in a sort of cave.

Here he meets 'somebody with a lot of shaggy hair and two bright black eyes' wearing a rabbit skin and speaking in grunts.

He names him Stig. Of course nobody believes Barney when he tells his family all about Stig, but for Barney cave-man Stig is totally real.

They become great friends, learning each others ways and embarking on a series of unforgettable adventures.

This book is a wonderful "Puffin Modern Classic". 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 went to Downing College, Cambridge, and the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

He then served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. His service as a sailor and his work as a language teacher took him all over the world.

Clive King lives with his family in Norfolk and is a full-time writer.

Other titles by Clive King: "Hamid of Aleppo"; "The Town that Went South"; "The 22 Letters"; "The Night the Water Came"; "Snakes and Snakes"; "Me and My Million"; "The Inner Ring" series; "The Devil's Cut"; "Ninny's Boat"; "The Sound of propellors"; "The Seashore People"; "A Touch of Class Other Puffin Modern Classics: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"; "Goodnight Mr Tom"; "The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog"; "Artemis Fowl"; "Charlotte's Webb"; "The Family from One End Street"; "The Worst Witch"; "George's Marvelous Medicine"; "The Sheep-Pig"; "A Dog so Small"; "The Diary of a Killer Cat"; "Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH"; "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry"; "Carrie's War".