Books published by publisher Penguin Books (South Africa)

The year is 1991, and Spud Milton's long walk to manhood is still creeping along at an unnervingly slow pace. Approaching the ripe old age of fifteen and still with no signs of the much anticipated ball-drop, Spud is coming to terms with the fact that he may well be a freak of nature. With a mother hell-bent on emigrating, a father making a killing out of selling homemade moonshine, and a demented grandmother called Wombat, the new year seems to offer little except extreme embarrassment and more mortifying Milton madness. But Spud is returning to a boarding school where he is no longer the youngest or the smallest. His dormitory mates, known as the Crazy Eight, have an unusual new member and his house has a new clutch of first years (the Normal Seven). If Spud thinks his second year will be a breeze, however, he is seriously mistaken. He is soon beset with women trouble, coerced into misguided late-night adventures, and finds his dreams of a famous career on the stage in tatters after landing the part of the Dove of Peace in a disastrous house play production of Noah's Ark. Hilarious, bitter-sweet, tragic and real, join Spud as he takes another tentative step forward while all around him the madness continues ... This is the second book in the record-breaking Spud series and the sequel to Spud. The third title is Spud - Learning to Fly.

The year is 1991, and Spud Milton's long walk to manhood is still creeping along at an unnervingly slow pace. Approaching the ripe old age of fifteen and still with no signs of the much anticipated ball-drop, Spud is coming to terms with the fact that he may well be a freak of nature. With a mother hell-bent on emigrating, a father making a killing out of selling homemade moonshine, and a demented grandmother called Wombat, the new year seems to offer little except extreme embarrassment and more mortifying Milton madness. But Spud is returning to a boarding school where he is no longer the youngest or the smallest. His dormitory mates, known as the Crazy Eight, have an unusual new member and his house has a new clutch of first years (the Normal Seven). If Spud thinks his second year will be a breeze, however, he is seriously mistaken. He is soon beset with women trouble, coerced into misguided late-night adventures, and finds his dreams of a famous career on the stage in tatters after landing the part of the Dove of Peace in a disastrous house play production of Noah's Ark. Hilarious, bitter-sweet, tragic and real, join Spud as he takes another tentative step forward while all around him the madness continues ... This is the second book in the record-breaking Spud series and the sequel to Spud. The third title is Spud - Learning to Fly.

As Spud Milton continues his diabolical stagger through adolescence, he learns one of life's most important lessons: when dealing with women and cretins, nothing is ever quite as it seems. 'I'm practically a man in most areas,' writes Spud confidently on his sixteenth birthday. The year is 1992 and, as always in South Africa, radical change is in the air. The country may be on the bumpy road to an uncomfortable redemption, but Spud Milton is hoping for a smooth ride as he returns to boarding school as a senior. Instead, he discovers that his vindictive arch enemy is back to taunt him and that a garrulous Malawian has taken residence in his dormitory, along with the regular inmates and misfits he calls friends. Spud's world has never seemed less certain. He attempts to master Shakespeare, wrestles constantly with God and the power of negative thinking, and develops an aversion to fried fish after a shocking discovery about his grandmother, Wombat. Spud - Learning to Fly transports the reader on an authentic tragicomic journey, deep into the sublime and ridiculous world of being a teenager. It is the third and penultimate instalment in the series of Spud Milton's schoolboy diaries, following on the best-selling Spud and Spud - The Madness Continues....

After an unexpected and diabolical farewell breakfast conversation with his father, Spud Milton returns to boarding school for his 1993 Matric year, his last as a schoolboy. Armed with a prefect's tie and a raging libido, Spud soon discovers that being a large(ish) fish in a small pond has its fair share of challenges. He finds himself embroiled in fighting for his own room, directing a house play where both lead actors refuse to learn their lines, and assisting Vern Blackadder's dramatic return from the dead with nothing more than a drip cord and a pair of oven gloves. Amid mounting pressure in the classroom and on the cricket field, Spud prepares to face down the most feared and dreaded challenge of them all - finding a date for the Matric dance. In this hilarious final instalment of the Spud series John van de Ruit brings to a close his savagely funny blow by blow account of the agonies of growing up. The embarrassments, the thrills, the defeats, and the sheer absurdity of daily life are wittily recorded in Spud's unique voice as he prepares to make his own exit, pursued by a bear.

10 of several other brilliant things you'll never know about Spud The Movie unless you read this book: 1. That John van de Ruit has a small cameo in the movie, for which he had to cultivate an authentic '90s look; 2. What unusual skill John Cleese and his chaperon on the movie set had in common; 3. Whose hair and eyebrows had to be dyed daily for his role as one of the Crazy Eight; 4. That it took eight days to shoot the nightswimming sequences and only three hours to shoot the actual swimming in the dam; 5. How director Donovan Marsh earned the nickname 'Stonewall'; 6. Why the authors of this book could be considered magnets for disasters of huge proportions, natural and otherwise; 7. How Troye Sivan fell victim to adolescence and nearly scuppered the movie; 8. Why Sir Tim Rice of Lion King fame was spotted lurking in the Midlands during the shoot; 9. That unless his shoes are in view, John Cleese performs most of his scenes in evening slippers; 10. What Hugh Grant might have said upon receiving Spud the screenplay. Author of the bestselling Spud series of books, John van de Ruit and movie producer Ross Garland offer a real insider's view into the journey that began with a book about a young boy struggling for acceptance at boarding school and ended with bringing the Crazy Eight and their legendary exploits explosively to life on the big screen. From raising the money to finding the stars, and shooting on set at the school where the dream began, this is an invaluable souvenir for existing and new Spud fans.

Hunting stories, like traveller's tales, are proverbially dangerous to reputations, however literally true they may be ...' So wrote J Percy FitzPatrick of his perennial best-seller, never out of print in the century since its first publication. Here is the story of the 'Boy' who went to seek his fortune and of his bull-terrier, the plucky runt of the litter; of Marokela, the champion Zulu haulier; of Jantje, the Bushman with all his lore; and of pioneer types from previous goldrushes in California and Australia. A tribute to the life of the 1880s in the outposts of the agrarian Transvaal, this complete edition includes for the first time the author's 'Postscript' and 'The Creed of Jock'.

I began to notice little things about him that no one else noticed, and got to be quite fond of the little beggar ... perhaps it was because he was always cheerful and plucky and it seemed as if there might be some good stuff in him after all.' Before the turn of the twentieth century, when the lure of gold was bringing men from all corners of the earth to the Transvaal, a young man from Cape Town goes to the Lydenburg goldfields to seek his fortune. On realising that a good hunting dog would be a great advantage in the Bushveld, he decides to find himself a puppy - but to all his companions' astonishment, it's not the prettiest or the strongest puppy that catches his eye. Instead, he chooses an ugly little bull-terrier called Jock, the runt of the litter, who eventually surprises everyone by growing up to become one of the most famous hunting dogs in South African history. With his master, Jock shares the excitement of a transport rider's life; they become close companions and all Jock's skill and intelligence are needed in many thrilling and dangerous encounters with big game. Through the story of Jock and his master, a vivid picture of the Bushveld unfolds, as together they discover its birds and beasts and men. Now regarded as a classic, Jock of the Bushveld is still as fresh and exciting as it was when it was first told.

This is the story of how a young Xhosa herdboy, growing up among the green hills of the Eastern Cape, became the first black president of South Africa. As he studied and became a lawyer in Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela saw more and more how unfair the laws of the country were to black people, and how they suffered because of it. And the worst of it was, they had no power to set it right because black people were not allowed to vote for a government of their choice. So Tata Mandela decided to give all his time and strength to fight the government's big plan called apartheid. Apartheid meant that black and white people were kept apart and that the best of everything was for white people only. Soon, his actions got him into trouble, and he was locked up for 27 years. But when he got out of there, everything had changed, and he was made the first-ever president of all the people of the land, black and white. He became a hero for all in South Africa and the world over, and this book tells his story.

‘This isn’t the one I want! This one is the smallest – the runt of the litter! We need the bravest and best – the champion!’ Jim stopped smiling and frowned at Fitz. ‘Don’t look at his size! It’s what’s in here that counts! And here!’ said Jim, pointing to his head and then his heart. ‘Just look at him!’ It’s the 1870s in South Africa and ‘gold’ is the buzzword. From all over, hopeful diggers are streaming to this beautiful yet hard land, where fortunes can be made and lost and where opportunities lie around every corner ... but where dangers, criminals and crooks also abound! It is here that Jock has to face trouble – man trouble – and learn that it takes the heart of a champion to be a true and loyal friend, no matter what dangers you’re facing.

How did the leopard get his spots? Why do cats act as though they own the place? What does a crocodile like best for lunch? Why are rhinos so cranky? What causes the ocean tides to rise and fall? Who wrote the alphabet? Generations of children have grown up with the Just So Stories and have been captivated by Kipling's wonderful insights into the world around us. Now these classic gems have been given a new look for a new generation, delivered as always in Kipling's mesmerising, read-aloud prose. Illustrated by children's book author Alex Latimer, each story is invigorated with Latimer's own insights and humour.

Youth Revolution is the inspirational story of how Kiara Nirghin, a sixteen-year-old high-school student from Johannesburg, overcame severe health obstacles to win the grand prize at the 2016 International Google Science Fair for her unique and innovative solution to worldwide drought. Having experienced bacterial meningitis, undiagnosed bilharzia and severe weight loss, Kiara was forced to postpone her school career for hospitalisation, with a real chance of losing her hearing, her sight and the use of her limbs. Youth Revolution not only covers her journey from the hospital bed to the international stage as the winner of the science award, but also looks at issues surrounding stagnant youth innovation, while considering the dangers of lacking diversity in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). The book includes contributions from prominent women in science and education, among them Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate. Youth Revolution is a deeply human and truly inspirational real-life story that will enthral teenagers and adults alike, proving that even ‘ordinary’ teenagers can do extraordinary things.

There is a storyteller in almost every village in Africa. Telling stories is not her offi cial job. By day she may be a Gogo, a teacher, a farmer or a seamstress. But at night, round the fi re, she will sit surrounded by young children, old friends, neighbours and travellers. She will tell of how it was in the olden days, when the earth was young, when man was a hunter-gatherer, and when the animals roamed wild throughout the continent. The author spent several months hiking around the villages, towns, farms and deserts of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa, asking people who can’t read or write to tell her their favourite stories. The result is this children’s treasury of legends and fables, of witchdoctors and kingdoms of strange creatures and talking animals, which celebrates Africa and its ancient storytelling culture.