Steve Roud was Local Studies Librarian for the London Borough of Croydon and served as Honorary Librarian of the Folklore Society for over fifteen years. He has been researching British folklore for over thirty years and is the joint author of the Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore, plus other books on traditional drama and folk song, and the Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland, which won the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award in 2004. His publications include London Lore (2008) and The Lore of the Playground (2010). He also compiles the Folk Song Index and the Broadside Index, two internationally acclaimed computer databases of traditional folk and popular song. He lives in Sussex.

Steve Roud

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

Nadiya Hussain

During the month of Ramadhan, the long hours of daylight fasting mean that when mealtimes do arrive, food takes on new significance, as families come together to break their fast while observing the customs of the period and reflecting on their faith. Meals become an event, planned and anticipated, a chance to revisit favourites, embrace the traditional, or try new things. 
 
Rooza is Nadiya Hussain's culinary tribute to the holy month, taking the reader on an exploratory journey of Muslim cuisine, and shining a light on the rituals, traditions and incredible variety of dishes from across the Islamic world. With main meal and dessert inspiration for each of the 30 days, plus a selection of glorious feasting recipes ideal for the Eid festivities, this is a beautiful and timeless book to treasure, gift and return to year after year.

Rooza

a journey through Islamic cuisine inspired by Ramadhan and Eid

Roxie Nafousi

Unlock your limitless potential, create lasting, transformative change, and turn your dreams into a reality. 
 
This book takes you deeper into your inner healing journey and expands your understanding of each of the unique seven steps to manifestation. Roxie Nafousi provides practical techniques to teach you how to harness your potential and confidently step into your power. 
 
Each chapter is filled with exercises that are designed to cultivate self-awareness, reflection and growth, and therefore empower and enhance your manifesting process.

Manifest: Dive Deeper

Martin Clunes

Martin Clunes has always been a soft touch when it comes to animals, and has filled his life with them both on screen and off. 
 
But Martin got more than he bargained for when it came to John and Murray - two mischievous, uncontrollable Jack Russell puppies, who quickly took over his life and home with their own rambunctious plans - and nevertheless captured his heart. 
 
Here he tells the hilarious and heartwarming story of training and taming - and ultimately of the unbreakable bonds between a man and his dogs.

Training John and Murray

Simone St. James

1960s: 
 
Three siblings are all haunted in three very different ways. Violet wakes to a strange and cold woman looming over her bed, Dodie wakes in a constant state of drowning and Vale wakes to beaming light and probing figures. But the one thing that haunts them the most is the disappearance of their little brother, Ben, who went missing during a game of hide and seek. 
 
1980s: 
 
Violet is notified that Ben's spirit is seen wondering their haunted childhood home calling for them to return and the three siblings do just that. But secrets become un-earthed, their past traumas seem more connected that they thought and all siblings are faced with a very angry spirit who wants revenge.

A Box Full of Darkness

Will Schwalbe

By the time Will Schwalbe was a junior at college, he had already met everyone he cared to know. He also knew exactly whom he wanted to avoid: the jocks. The jocks wore backwards baseball caps and moved in packs, filling boisterous tables in the dining hall, and on the whole seemed to Will another species, one he might encounter only at his own peril. 
 
All this dramatically changed when he collided with Chris Maxey, known to just about everyone as Maxey. Maxey was physically imposing, loud, a star wrestler-and under the strangely liberating circumstances of a little-known secret society at Yale, the two forged a bond that has remained a mainstay of their lives for forty years and counting. 
 
We Should Not be Friends tracks an extraordinary friendship over decades of challenge and change. Will Schwalbe's marvellous new work is a testament to the miracle of human connection and to all we have to gain when we let go of first impressions and see one another for who we truly are.

We Should Not Be Friends

The Story of An Unlikely Friendship

Jeremy Clarkson

Uncooperative animals, underperforming crops, and rather less than best-laid plans pursued with unbridled enthusiasm - Clarkson’s farm is the gift that keeps on giving. And this time there's one rather devil-may-care farm animal who's really getting Jeremy's goat . . . 
Pull on your wellies, grab your flat cap, (and a pint from our hero's pub), and join him for this latest escapade into the sublimely ridiculous. 
What could possibly go wrong this time?

Diddly Squat: The G.O.A.T.

Chris Ramsey

Rosie Ramsey

SH**GED. 
Hitting the bars, necking drinks and necking strangers, one-night-stands, nightmare dates, ghosting, tears, more drinking, living off late-night chips. 
 
MARRIED. 
Meeting 'the one', weekends away, moving in, declaring life-long love, stags and hens, the perfect wedding, the honeymoon period, starting a family. 
 
ANNOYED. 
Can you close the bathroom door if you're doing that? Sleepless nights, arguing about whose turn it is to change the baby's nappy, toys everywhere, only having two drinks, still being hungover, wondering when it all stopped being easy. 
 
The Ramseys write hilariously and with honesty about the ups and downs of dating, relationships, arguing, parenting and everything in between.

Sh**ged. Married. Annoyed.

The Sunday Times No. 1 Bestseller

Miranda Hart

Lucy Claire Dunbar

In January, Christmas trees across the land are taken down, discarded and forgotten. But what if one Christmas tree wants a different fate . . . 
 
This is a story about talking and dancing Christmas trees (yes, dancing!), a dog called Jessie who also talks, a woman called Joan who – less surprisingly, in that she is a human being – talks too, two strange men (and yes, they talk) and their truck (which doesn’t talk). There are also lots of lights, baubles and stars. 
 
Can Joan and Jessie rescue the discarded January Christmas trees, or will their plans be thwarted by the two men and their truck?

The Christmas Tree that Loved to Dance

Matt Dinniman

Chaos reigns on the eighth floor. 
 
Coast Guard vet Carl and Princess Donut have survived longer—and climbed higher—than anyone expected in the galaxy’s favorite reality show, but now the game is wide open. The task: capture six monsters and turn them into battle cards. The stronger the creature, the better the hand.But there’s always a catch. To win, Carl and Donut must claim the deadliest monster of all: Shi Maria, the Bedlam Bride—once wed to a now-missing god, her very attack can shatter the mind.Capturing a monster is one thing. Taming it? That’s another story entirely.

The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

Jane Fallon

Georgia and Lydia are so close they're practically sisters. 
 
So when Lydia starts an online business that struggles, Georgia wants to help her - but she also understands Lydia's not the kind to accept a handout. 
 
Setting up a fake Twitter account, Georgia hopes to give her friend some anonymous moral support by posing as a potential customer. 
 
But then Lydia starts confiding in her new internet buddy and Georgia discovers she doesn't know her quite as well as she thought. 
 
Especially when Lydia reveals a secret that could tear Georgia's marriage apart . . .

Worst Idea Ever

What’s a little white lie between best friends?

Chris McCausland

From a life in comedy to the Glitterball Trophy – Chris McCausland Tells All. The perfect feel-good gift for fans of comedy and Strictly alike.'The thing about Chris is that he's funnier than everybody else' RICHARD OSMAN 
-- 
Already one of the country's best loved comedians, Chris McCausland's participation on Strictly was a phenomenon. But how did the boy from Liverpool end up winning the hearts of the nation? 
 
This is his remarkable story, of a twenty-five-year journey through sight loss to blindness. Of the highs, the lows and the downright hilarious along the way. 
 
From being a lowlife conker dealer, and running his very own bootlegging empire (kind of) . . . to almost becoming a spy for MI5 (really) . . . 
 
And of how he dared himself to try stand-up comedy, and ended up being brilliant on all your favourite TV shows. 
 
Before, of course, he surprised himself, as well as everybody else, when he tried dancing on live TV in front of millions. 
 
Warm, honest, insightful and laugh-out-loud funny, this is the most likeable, cheering and uplifting book of the year!

Keep Laughing

Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Lonely college student Minnie feels invisible until she stumbles upon HOURglass: America’s new K-pop inspired boyband obsession. Soon she is memorising the lyrics to every song and staying up late to watch their livestreams, hoping that her favourite member, bad-boy Halo, will see her in the comments.On the other side of the screen, Halo is also becoming addicted to the adoration from his fans, using their love to paper over the cracks of the tragic past he is determined to keep hidden.But when Minnie is drawn to a shadowy fan community who believe they need to protect the band members from a dark conspiracy, the line between fandom and obsession begins to blur...

Superfan

Hugh Murphy

He might be top predator in the Jurassic kingdom, but in modern life, T-Rex's comically short arms doom him to hilarious failure. 
 
T-Rex has teeth the size of bananas and eats Triceratops for breakfast, but when it's time to brush his teeth ... 
 
T-Rex is 12 metres long and 4 metres tall, but somehow he just can't change that lightbulb ... 
 
And you can just forget about the vending machine. 
 
Containing dozens of never before seen illustrations, T-Rex Trying: The Unfortunate Trials of the Tyrant Lizard King is the cute, quirky and laugh-out-loud funny collection of cartoons that will have across the board appeal this Christmas.

T-Rex Trying

The Unfortunate Trials of the Tyrant Lizard King

James Norbury

Big Panda and Tiny Dragon have inspired readers across the world with their message of kindness, hope and resilience. Join the two friends as they continue their journey overcoming life's obstacles together. And although they often find themselves lost, the beautiful sights along the way show us that the wrong path can often lead to the right road. 
 
Writer and artist James Norbury began illustrating the adventures of Big Panda and Tiny Dragon, inspired by Buddhist philosophy, to share the ideas that helped him through difficult times, in the hope they could help others too.

The Journey

A Big Panda and Tiny Dragon Adventure

Laura Dickerman

This isn't the office romance you expected... Perfect for fans of You've Got Mail, Attachments and Good Material 
'Hilarious, heartbreaking, satirical, cutting and FUN' Laura Jane Williams 
'For anyone who loves Curtis Sittenfeld, Nora Ephron, Alison Espach' Joanna Rackoff 
'Super smart and assured . . . Fans of Tom Lake and The Flatshare will love it' Sarra Manning 
'Rollicking and entertaining' People Magazine 
'Captures all the thrills and aches of setting out in the world' Morgan Dick 
 
 1982Jane Kinloch arrives at the legendary townhouse offices of the East River Review as a wide-eyed intern with big dreams. When she strikes up a friendship with glamorous fellow intern Rose, the two soon become inseparable. But Rose’s attraction to their married boss, literary titan Edward David Adams, threatens to drive a wedge between them. 
2022Once upon a time in publishing, editors had their own offices. But now, to her great chagrin, Rebecca Blume of Avenue Publishing must share custody of a ‘hot desk’ with Ben Heath, editor at rival imprint Hawk Mills. What starts as a battle of passive-aggressive Post-it notes about an unwatered cactus notes escalates after the death of renowned writer Edward David Adams. He has left behind an unpublished manuscript, and Ben and Rebecca are soon vying for the career-making opportunity to publish it. 
But when Rebecca discovers that the manuscript contains a decades-old secret about her mother, Jane, she is determined to stop it from seeing the light of day. 
Can she persuade her infuriating (and annoyingly handsome) rival deskmate to let it go? 
A funny, sexy, unexpectedly moving novel that weaves a contemporary workplace romance with a gripping historical narrative set in the 1980s New York publishing industry.

Hot Desk

Stephen Fry

By the time he was fifteen, Stephen Fry owned more than forty ties. Inherited initially from a grandfather, matters turned more serious when he could afford to buy them brand spanking new. 
 
Stephen's collection now numbers well into the hundreds. And each tie - whether floral, fluorescent, football themed; striped or spotty, outrageous or simply debonair - tells a story. A tale of the garment itself - the shops, makers and designers - as well as of Stephen, his reasons for choosing it, whether an occasion or just a whim. 
 
Inspired by Stephen's hugely popular Instagram posts, this book will feature beautiful, hand-drawn illustrations and photographs to celebrate his expansive collection of man's greatest asset: the Tie, in all its sophisticated glory.

Fry's Ties

Discover the life and ties of Stephen Fry

Philippa Rice

Evnie Treedle makes magical things and for the last few years has been working at the magical knickknack shop, The Magpie Nest.But everything changes when Evnie’s crafting abilities catch theattention of the nearby Reignclowd Palace. She is soon whisked away to become the Palace’s spellsmith and is put to work making and mending magical objects.But disaster strikes when a dragon threatens the Kingdom’s princess and it is up to Evnie to put her crafting talents to the test to save the girl, and the Kingdom, from this mysterious beast.

Reignclowd Palace

Jamie D'Amato

It's only natural Brennan's life would be upended by turning into a vampire. But if there's one thing Brennan can do, it's pretend everything's fine. 
But his new bloodthirsty existence gets way more complicated when Cole, the super cute librarian, stumbles on Brennan sucking down a stolen blood bag. Luckily, Cole is happy to keep Brennan's secret, and something starts to grow between them . . . 
But when rumours of a missing student and strange 'animal attacks' near campus start to circulate, Brennan must uncover the truth before he becomes suspect number one and stands to lose everything

The Good Vampire's Guide To Blood And Boyfriends

Olivia Ford

In their sixty years together, Jennifer Quinn has only kept two secrets from her husband. One is that her love of baking has just won her a spot as a contestant on primetime TV show Britain Bakes. The other she hopes will stay hidden forever . . . 
 
Whisked into an unfamiliar world of cameras, timed challenges and celebrity judges, Jenny finds herself in with a chance of being crowned the best baker in Britain. 
 
But as her star begins to rise, the past collides with the present, and Jenny struggles to conceal that long held secret which could shatter the very foundations of her decades long marriage . . .

Mrs Quinn’s Rise to Fame

Jason Hazeley

Joel Morris

These delightful books are the latest in the series of Ladybird books which have been specially planned to help grown-ups with the world about them. 
 
The large clear script, the careful choice of words, the frequent repetition and the thoughtful matching of text with pictures all enable grown-ups to think they have taught themselves to cope. The subject of the books will greatly appeal to grown-ups. 
 
The eight books in the series feature original Ladybird artwork alongside brilliantly funny, brand new text. The other books in the series are: 
 
- The Ladybird Book of Mindfulness 
 
- The Ladybird Book of Sheds 
 
- The Ladybird Book of The Hipster 
 
- The Ladybird Book of the Mid-Life Crisis 
 
- The Ladybird Book of the Hangover 
 
- The Ladybird Book of Dating 
 
- How it Works: The Husband 
 
- How it Works: The Wife

A Ladybird Book about Donald Trump: A charming introduction to the President of the United States, the important jobs he has to do, and the friends he's made all over the world. 
 
 
This delightful book is the latest in the series of Ladybird books which have been specially planned to help grown-ups with the world about them. 
 
The large clear script, the careful choice of words, the frequent repetition and the thoughtful matching of text with pictures all enable grown-ups to think they have taught themselves to cope. Featuring original Ladybird artwork alongside brilliantly funny, brand new text. 
 
 
Praise for The Story of Brexit 
One of the Best Comedy Books of 2018 - The List 
The latest offering in the hilarious Ladybird for Grown Ups series is a funny mickey-take of the Brexit debate (and boy, do we need some fun) - Sunday Post 
Hilarious - Stylist

A Ladybird Book About Donald Trump

Andy Wilman

Top Gear turned gloomy Sunday nights into celebratory Friday nights. It made household names of presenters Clarkson, Hammond and May, their unique chemistry and buddy movie antics proving irresistible to a global audience, earning them the Guinness World Record for the world's most popular factual TV show. Then, a short while later, it was gone. How did a thoroughly sensible little consumer advice programme on cars become a global phenomenon? How did it all go wrong? And how did they rise from the ashes as The Grand Tour? One man has all the answers - co-creator, and Jeremy’s oldest friend, Andy Wilman.

Mr Wilman’s Motoring Adventure

Top Gear, Grand Tour, Clarkson and Me

Margaret Weis

Tracy Hickman

Denis Beauvais

Jeffrey Butler

Once merely creatures of legend, the dragons have returned.But with their arrival comes the departure of the old gods &ndash; and with them, all healing magic vanishes and war engulfs the land . . .Former Comrades and lifelong friends, Sturm the Solamnic knight, Tanis Half-Elf, Tasslehoff Burrfoot the irrepressible Kender, Flint the Dwarf, Caramon the warrior and his twin brother, Raistlin the red-robed mage reunite for an adventure.Trouble starts when they see a woman use a blue crystal staff to heal a villager. Wondering if it&rsquo;s a sign the gods haven&rsquo;t abandoned them after all, they investigate and quickly find themselves catapulted into trouble that will change their lives and the world forever.

Dragonlance Chronicles

Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning

Sony Pictures Television UK Rights Ltd

Twenty years after it last aired, Who Wants to be a Millionaire burst back onto our screens for a week of shows this spring. A record 6 million viewers were shouting at the TV as contestants took on the new host, lifelines and questions. A second mini-series will air in November to celebrate the show's anniversary and this is the ultimate quiz-book for readers to take on the challenge at home. 
 
The perfect stocking filler for this Christmas, this interactive book is packed with a thousand questions that everyone can have a go at, from £100 answers that everyone should know, to the formidable £1,000,000 question. But it's a game of skill, too: should you save your lifelines? who do you ask on phone a friend? when do you set your safety line? 
 
The real question is, can anyone play a perfect game and make it to the top?

Who Wants to be a Millionaire - The Quiz Book

India-Rose Bower

Britian, two years after they came . . . 
Most people have been devoured by the eldritch creatures. 
Sara and her family have been fighting for survival. 
And the only thing that works against these monsters - these Witches - is their knowledge of folklore and pagan rituals. 
When a girl named Parsley suddenly appears in the garden of their current camp, she cannot remember where she came from or why she's there. 
As Sara and Parsley begin to develop feelings for each other, disaster strikes, and Sara's younger brother Noah is snatched by the Witches. 
They must find him and set out across desolate moors full of merciless terror, to hunt the very creatures they've been hiding from. 
Can they succeed in saving Noah? Will Parsley and Sara's burgeoning love survive these bloodthirsty Witches? and, who can Sara trust in a world void of humanity?

We Call Them Witches

*A HILARIOUS, BRAND NEW BOOK IN THE PHENOMENAL LADYBIRDS FOR GROWN UPS SERIES FOR AUTUMN 2017* 
 
The Ladybird Book of the Nerd - a nugget of wisdom from bestselling authors Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris. 
 
This delightful book is the latest in the series of Ladybird books which have been specially planned to help grown-ups with the world about them. 
 
The large clear script, the careful choice of words, the frequent repetition and the thoughtful matching of text with pictures all enable grown-ups to think they have taught themselves to cope. Featuring original Ladybird artwork alongside brilliantly funny, brand new text.

The Ladybird Book of The Nerd

Brad Tolinski

Chris Gill

With his shag haircut and white Stratocaster guitar Jeff Beck was an icon. Yet somehow, he maintained the ineffable low-profile cool of a cult hero - gliding through six decades of musical trends with nary a lapse in taste. 
In his illustrious career Beck won eight Grammy Awards, was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recorded with some of the most important rock, jazz and soul musicians of all time, including Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, Morrissey and Kate Bush. 
Here, we shed new light on the elusive rock genius.

Blow by Blow

*A HILARIOUS, BRAND NEW BOOK IN THE PHENOMENAL LADYBIRDS FOR GROWN UPS SERIES FOR AUTUMN 2017* 
 
How it Works: The Brother - a nugget of wisdom from bestselling authors Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris. 
 
This delightful book is the latest in the series of Ladybird books which have been specially planned to help grown-ups with the world about them. 
 
The large clear script, the careful choice of words, the frequent repetition and the thoughtful matching of text with pictures all enable grown-ups to think they have taught themselves to cope. Featuring original Ladybird artwork alongside brilliantly funny, brand new text.

How it Works: The Brother

In James Norbury’s fifth book, we are invited to take a closer look at the world around us and search for beauty in the here and now. As Big Panda and Tiny Dragon undertake their demanding expedition, they traverse dark forests, hazardous mountains and derelict ruins. But whilst the landscapes of life can seem overwhelming,  the pair slowly come to see pockets of light and beauty at every turn. As day-to-day life steadily consumes us, it is easy to to miss life's hidden treasures. Through beautiful illustrations and a simple tale inspired by Buddhist philosophy, Norbury draws our gaze back to the simple pleasures and helps us to find hope in the most unlikely places.

A Beautiful World

Rob Buckhaven

Discover your new favourite wines, beers, spirits and cocktails in this unique and ingenious guide, led by your own taste buds 
 
'All about the pleasures of raising a glass. This book tells you what to try next and why . . . Cheers!' Michel Roux Jr 
'A kind of Flavour Thesaurus but for drinks. A joyful, thoughtful labyrinth in which you can happily lose yourself for hours' Daily Telegraph 
'From floral to fruity, smoky to spicy, this invaluable tome will tell you how to hit every flavour high note' Esquire's 'Best Cocktail Books of 2023' 
 
**Finalist in the Guild of Food Writers Award for Drinks Book of the Year** 
________ 
 
Do you always ask for the same old wine, the usual pint, the reliable spirit? It's all too easy to play it safe, and finding new favourites can take time and effort. 
 
Until now. 
 
Using the algorithm 'If you like this, you'll love that', this ingenious guide will lead you by your taste buds, using your existing favourite drinks and flavours to reveal vast varieties that will also suit your palate. 
 
Fan of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc? Try Sancerre for similar grassy notes. 
 
Partial to Vintage Champagne? Believe it or not, you may also like a Brown Porter. 
 
Those who enjoy Scotch Single Malt Whisky should give a Californian Pinot Noir a go, while a preference for Pornstar Martinis suggests you'll also be fond of Japanese Sake. 
 
Exploring the gamut of flavour styles, from floral and fruity to smoky and spicy, then showcasing all the drinks in which you can find them, from wine, beer, cider, tequila and vodka through to tea, coffee, mixers and everything in between 
 
There's a whole universe of incredible wine, beer, spirits and cocktails just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed - if only we can step outside that comfort zone. 
 
This book will show you how. 
________ 
 
'Rob Buckhaven will help you discover your new favourite tipple . . . He knows his stuff and his enthusiasm is infectious' Sunday Express

The Alcorithm

A revolutionary flavour guide to find the drinks you’ll love

Laurence Falconer

Top of the Morgen! charts the adventures of Laurence Falconer, a craic-loving Dubliner, as he tries to get to grips with a new life in Germany. In his hilarious, heart-warming and self-deprecating style, Laurence explores and celebrates the similarities between the Irish and the Germans (smashing pints) and some of the vast cultural differences (pretty much everything else). 
 
From attempts at raucous busking in a quaint and quiet German village to the conversational pitfalls that come about when ‘grand’ is your answer to most questions, Laurence hilariously details the blunders and escapades that thrive in the bewildering cultural gap between the Irish and the Germans. An insightful and funny love letter to two very different cultures, Top of the Morgen! is a fascinating and riotous memoir of finding love and humour in a home very far from home.

Showing results for: ‘Steve Roud’

Filters

Category

Age

Publication Date

Format

Series

Imprint

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter