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

Craig Barr-Green

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
The Extraordinary Life of Steve Jobs, a Level 2 Reader, is A1+ in the CEFR framework. Sentences contain a maximum of two clauses, introducing the future tenses will and going to, present continuous for future meaning, and comparatives and superlatives. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Steve Jobs was a brilliant inventor and businessman. His computers, tablets and iPods have changed our lives and work. Steve was sometimes very difficult to work with, but he was also special. He thought about the world in a different way, and he had many brilliant ideas.

Penguin Readers Level 2: The Extraordinary Life of Steve Jobs (ELT Graded Reader)

Abridged Edition

Roald Dahl

Quentin Blake

This story is about sweet shops, school days and summer holidays! It is the story of the famous writer Roald Dahl when he was a boy. These tales are exciting, funny and sometimes frightening. All of them are true. 
 
Our Penguin Readers books include: 
• Simple text (CEFR-levelled) 
• Pictures to help you understand the story 
• Fun exercises to help you learn and practise English 
 
With the print book, you can get even more help online: 
• Read the book online 
• Listen to the book being read out loud 
• Get lesson plans for teachers 
• Find answers to check your understanding 
 
Note: online resources not available with the eBook.

Penguin Readers Level 2: Boy (ELT Graded Reader)

Malorie Blackman

In this story, Cameron Kelsey is 13 years old. He is not well and needs a new heart. Doctors want to give him a pig's heart. Cameron cannot decide if he wants the pig's heart, and some groups are very angry about doctors using animals in this way. 
 
Our Penguin Readers books include: 
• Simple text (CEFR-levelled) 
• Pictures to help you understand the story 
• Fun exercises to help you learn and practise English 
 
With the print book, you can get even more help online: 
• Read the book online 
• Listen to the book being read out loud 
• Get lesson plans for teachers 
• Find answers to check your understanding 
 
Note: online resources not available with the eBook.

Penguin Readers Level 4: Pig-Heart Boy (ELT Graded Reader)

Moira Fowley-Doyle

The day after the funeral all our mourning clothes hung out on the line like sleeping bats. 'This will be really embarrassing,' I kept saying to my family, 'when she shows up at the door in a week or two.' 
 
On Deena's seventeenth birthday, the day she finally comes out to her family, her wild and mysterious sister Mandy is seen leaping from a cliff. The family is heartbroken, but not surprised. The women of the Rys family have always been troubled - 'bad apples', their father calls them - and Mandy is the baddest of them all. 
 
But then Deena starts to receive the letters. Letters from Mandy, claiming that their family's blighted history is not just bad luck or bad decisions, but a curse, handed down to the Rys women through the generations. Mandy has gone in search of the curse's roots, and now Deena must begin a desperate cross-country hunt for her sister, guided only by the letters that mysteriously appear in each new place. What Deena finds will heal their family's rotten past - or rip it apart forever.

All the Bad Apples

In this story, seventeen-year-old Dante is waiting for his exam results. If they are good, he'll go to university. But Dante's plans have to change when he hears that he is the father of a baby girl. With the help of his father and brother, Dante must learn how to be a single father. 
 
Our Penguin Readers books include: 
• Simple text (CEFR-levelled) 
• Pictures to help you understand the story 
• Fun exercises to help you learn and practise English 
 
With the print book, you can get even more help online: 
 
• Read the book online 
• Listen to the book being read out loud 
• Get lesson plans for teachers 
• Find answers to check your understanding 
 
Note: online resources not available with the eBook.

Penguin Readers Level 5: Boys Don't Cry (ELT Graded Reader)

Karyn Parsons

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
Clouds Over California, a Level 4 Reader, is A2+ in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing more complex uses of present perfect simple, passives, phrasal verbs and simple relative clauses. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Clouds over California is a story about an eleven-year-old girl called Stevie, and the changes that happen in her life when her older cousin comes to stay. It is also about life in the 1970s and important events that changed things in the United States of America for women and Black people.

Penguin Readers Level 4: Clouds Over California (ELT Graded Reader)

Julia Green

Fifteen-year old Mia lives with her dad in a small rural community. When she discovers that she's pregnant she doesn't know where to turn - her elder sisters have left home, her mum left when Mia was six, her boyfriend, Will, is too scared to be anyhelp and her dad tries to push her into an abortion. Backed into a corner, she runs away and joins two women on a canal boat. Nobody can find her now but she discovers that the women have their own tragic stories. A fire on the boat makes her realise that she must take responsibility for the baby and herself and that home is the most likely place to get help. Her mother re-enters her life and Will's mother involves herself. Mia learns about love and realises how much her father has done for her.

Blue Moon

With carefully adapted text, illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, a Level 1 Reader, is A1 in the CEFR framework. Short sentences contain a maximum of two clauses, introducing the past simple tense and some simple modals, adverbs and gerunds. Illustrations support the text throughout. 
 
Billy loves the old sweet shop. But who is living there now? It's the Giraffe, the Pelican and the Monkey! The animals are window cleaners. But then, they see a burglar in a window. How can they stop him?

Penguin Readers Level 1: Roald Dahl The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (ELT Graded Reader)

Karen M. McManus

A geek, a jock, a criminal, a princess. A murder. 
 
In this story, everyone has secrets. How far would you go to protect yours? In this sotry, five students at Bayview High must stay late at school ... but only four of them leave alive. Bronwyn, Cooper, Nate and Addy all become suspects in a murder. Who do you believe? 
Our Penguin Readers books include:• Simple text (CEFR-levelled)• Pictures to help you understand the story• Fun exercises to help you learn and practise English 
 
With the print book, you can get even more help online:• Read the book online• Listen to the book being read out loud• Get lesson plans for teachers• Find answers to check your understandingNote: online resources not available with the eBook.

Penguin Readers Level 6: One Of Us Is Lying (ELT Graded Reader)

Alice Montgomery

What happens to the boy next door when he becomes part of the planet's hottest boy band? 
 
 When Harry Styles auditioned for the X-Factor, little did he know he'd soon be leaving behind school, his Saturday bakery job, obscurity and an ordinary life. One Direction made it to the final and won a record deal, and it wasn't long before Harry's face covered bedroom walls up and down the country. 
 
 But how did Harry cope with his new-found fame? And what happens when you take America by storm in a 'British Invasion'? 
 
 With gorgeous green eyes and curls that send girls wild, Harry has found himself surrounded by beautiful women. But what's the truth behind the rumours? Here, his relationships with Caroline Flack, Taylor Swift and the married Lucy Horobin are laid bare. 
 
 And what next for Harry and 1D? This book will give you the low down on how Harry and the boys are set to take on the world.

Harry Styles

Charles Dickens

In this story, Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas. He is angry that people are not working. Then, he meets the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley. Can Scrooge be a good person before it is too late? 
 
Our Penguin Readers books include: 
• Simple text (CEFR-levelled) 
• Pictures to help you understand the story 
• Fun exercises to help you learn and practise English 
 
With the print book, you can get even more help online: 
• Read the book online 
• Listen to the book being read out loud 
• Get lesson plans for teachers 
• Find answers to check your understanding 
 
Note: online resources not available with the eBook.

Penguin Readers Level 1: A Christmas Carol (ELT Graded Reader)

Graphic Novel

Care Bears

Discover the world of Care Bears with this adorable colouring book, filled with beloved characters and joyful scenes from the Kingdom of Caring. 
 
Full of detailed illustrations in the classic Care Bears art style, let your creativity shine and spread love and kindness on every page! 
 
This Official Care Bears Colouring Book includes:<ul><li>Over 45 pages of sweet and irresistible images for your creativity</li><li>Large, bold designs on high-quality paper that are easy to colour</li><li>Convenient 8 x 8-inch size, perfect to use anywhere</li><li>Illustrations in the classic Care Bears art style, for fans of all ages.</li></ul>

Care Bears: The Official Colouring Book

Little Mix

Little Mix are the UK's most successful girl band. They first found fame - and each other - on The X Factor in 2011. Five years later they have gone from strength to strength, achieving huge global success. With three platinum-selling albums in the UK and over 14 million record sales worldwide, the band are both adored by their fans and critically acclaimed for their brilliant music. 
 
In this book the girls share the real behind-the-scenes story of both their personal lives and their success. They reveal the many highs - what it feels like to perform in front of thousands of people; the excitement of seeing your music soar to Number One around the world - but also the lows. Through it all the girls have had each other, and their incredibly close friendship has grown stronger and stronger as the years have gone by. Now the girls are like sisters, and in this book they share their journeys and how it feels for your dreams to come true. 
 
Brimming with exclusive photos, this book shares with us the girls' innermost secrets - their hopes and dreams for the future, their families, their relationships, their style advice and above all their friendship. This book is Little Mix's story in their own words and tells you everything you need to know about their lives both in and out of the spotlight.

Our World

Our OFFICIAL autobiography

Coco Wyo

Relax and unwind with this adorable colouring book, full of tiny furry friends! 
 
Find comfort in the enchanting world of Cozy Friends, with 45 uplifting hand-drawn pages ready for you to colour in. 
 
In this book you’ll find familiar everyday activities, but with your brand new Cozy Friends – super cute animal characters! 
 
Cozy Friends has sweet and irresistible images for colouring fans of all ages, and also includes:<ul><li>45 hand-drawn pages ready for your creativity</li><li>Large, bold designs that are easy to colour</li><li>Convenient 8 x 8-inch size, perfect for relaxing anywhere</li><li>Crisp, high-resolution illustrations that bring each page to life</li></ul>

Coco Wyo: Cozy Friends

Alexandre Dumas

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
The Three Musketeers, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
When the young d'Artagnan leaves his home in Gascony with the hope of becoming one of the king's musketeers, it is the start of a wonderful adventure. D'Artagnan soon meets the three musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Together they cry, "All for one and one for all!"

Penguin Readers Level 5: The Three Musketeers (ELT Graded Reader)

Trick or treat! It’s time to get spooky! 
 
Step into the delightfully quirky and magical world of Spooky Cutie. Don’t be scared of these eerie but adorbale animals, gently splash your colours and let the fun begin! 
 
Spooky Cutie has sweet and irresistible images for colouring fans of all ages, and also includes:<ul><li>45 hand-drawn pages ready for your creativity</li><li>Large, bold designs that are easy to colour</li><li>Convenient 8 x 8-inch size, perfect for relaxing anywhere</li><li>Crisp, high-resolution illustrations that bring each page to life</li></ul>

Coco Wyo: Spooky Cutie

With carefully adapted text, illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a Level 3 Reader, is A2 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing first conditional, past continuous and present perfect simple for general experience. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Who will find the five golden tickets inside Willy Wonka's chocolate bars? Everyone in the world is looking. When Charlie finds a ticket, his life is going to change. Come with Charlie on his wonderful adventure to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory!

Penguin Readers Level 3: Roald Dahl Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (ELT Graded Reader)

Tove Jansson

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
Moomin and the Hat, a Level 3 Reader, is A2 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing first conditional, past continuous and present perfect simple for general experience. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Moomintroll, Snufkin and Sniff find a magic hat. It can make berry-juice and clouds! But who owns the hat - and are they looking for it?

Penguin Readers Level 3: Moomin and the Hat (ELT Graded Reader)

Make some time for you! 
Relax and unwind with this adorable colouring book – get cozy and colour in 45 beautiful, inspirational quotes! 
 
Step into a world of calm and comfort with Cozy Vibes, with 45 uplifting hand-drawn pages ready for you to colour in. 
 
This follow-up to Coco Wyo's beloved global bestsellers Cozy Cuties and Cozy Corner promises a new colourful delight at every turn! 
 
Uncover a treasure trove of uplifting phrases accompanying adorable animal friends for you to colour in within these cute and simple pages! 
 
Cozy Vibes has sweet and irresistible images combined with heartfelt and inspirational quotes, for colouring fans of all ages, and also includes: 
 
• 45 hand-drawn pages ready for your creativity 
• Large, bold designs that are easy to colour 
• Convenient 8 x 8-inch size, perfect for relaxing anywhere 
• Crisp, high-resolution illustrations that bring each page to life

Cozy Vibes

Patricia Highsmith

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
The Talented Mr Ripley, a Level 6 Reader, is B1+ in the CEFR framework. The longer text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing future continuous, reported questions, third conditional, was going to and ellipsis. A small number of illustrations support the text. 
 
In the 1950s, Tom Ripley travels from the United States of America to Italy, to find Dickie Greenleaf and bring him home to his father. But when Tom sees Dickie's money and relaxed way of life, he becomes jealous and begins to make other plans.

Penguin Readers Level 6: The Talented Mr Ripley (ELT Graded Reader)

Arthur Conan Doyle

From finding a diamond in a bird's stomach, to stealing a racehorse - in these four stories, the famous detective Sherlock Holmes works with his friend Dr Watson. Holmes understands people and he finds many clues. But will he solve the crimes? 
 
Our Penguin Readers books include:<ul><li> Simple text (CEFR-levelled)</li><li> Pictures to help you understand the story</li><li> Fun exercises to help you learn and practise English</li></ul>With the print book, you can get even more help online:<ul><li> Read the book online</li><li> Listen to the book being read out loud</li><li> Get lesson plans for teachers</li><li> Find answers to check your understanding</li></ul>Note: online resources not available with the eBook.

Penguin Readers Level 3: Sherlock Holmes Short Stories (ELT Graded Reader)

Saroo Brierley

In this story, five-year-old Saroo gets on the wrong train in India and is taken thousands of miles to the city of Kolkata. After months of living on the streets, he is adopted by a family in Australia. Many years later, Saroo decides to try and find his Indian family. 
 
Our Penguin Readers books include: 
• Simple text (CEFR-levelled) 
• Pictures to help you understand the story 
• Fun exercises to help you learn and practise English 
 
With the print book, you can get even more help online: 
• Read the book online 
• Listen to the book being read out loud 
• Get lesson plans for teachers 
• Find answers to check your understanding 
 
Note: online resources not available with the eBook.

Penguin Readers Level 4: Lion (ELT Graded Reader)

Various

Love, literature, friendship, music, carnival, travel, dance, work, nature, food - Black Joy can be found in so many places. And this anthology is an invitation for readers to ruminate on what brings them joy, too. 
 
Edited by award-winning journalist Charlie Brinkhust-Cuff and up-and-coming talent Timi Sotire, join twenty-eight inspirational voices in this uplifting and empowering anthology as they come together to celebrate being Black British, sharing their experiences of joy and what it means to them. 
 
 
With incredible pieces from: 
 
Diane Abbott - Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé - Fopé Ajanaku - Athian Akec - Travis Alabanza - Haaniyah Angus - Rukiat Ashawe - Bukky Bakray - Richie Brave - Munya Chawawa - Ruby Fatimilehin - Theophina Gabriel - Lauryn Green - Ife Grillo - Isaac James - Chanté Joseph - Vanessa Kisuule - Henrie Kwushue - Tobi Kyeremateng - Mikai McDermott - Jason Okundaye - Tope Olufemi - Melz Owusu - Leigh-Anne Pinnock - Mayowa Quadri - Lavinya Stennett - Timi Sotire - Sophia Tassew

Black Joy

Vivi Tinta

One of the world’s bestselling cute, cozy and stress-free colouring books for all ages. 
 
Savour the little joys and cozy moments of the hygge lifestyle with Fuzzy Hygge - an irresistible colouring book that will make your heart melt into a puddle of gooey cuteness. 
 
Inside this book, you'll join your new furry friends in spending quality time with loved ones, participating in shared activities, and creating a sense of community. You'll find joy and meaning in the small, everyday moments of their lives. 
 
Let your imagination roam freely as you become fully immersed in the peaceful world of the Fuzzy Hygge Colouring Book!

Fuzzy Hygge

Super cute colouring book

The seasons are changing and it's time to get cosy! 
 
Curl up with a blanket and a delicious mug of hot chocolate to enjoy colouring in 45 beautiful hand-drawn illustrations – adorable animal scenes packed with memorable details. This irresistible colouring book has bold and clean lines to help you create beautiful, effortless colouring pages. 
 
This book offers:<ul><li>45 hand-drawn colouring pages to help you relax, unwind and be inspired to appreciate the seasons!</li><li>Single-sided pages to prevent bleed-through (if using marker pens, please place a protective sheet behind the page you are colouring).</li><li>High resolution prints on high quality paper, for clear, crisp images.</li></ul>

Cozy Days

Jacqueline Wilson

"Jacqueline Wilson understands the complex interpersonal relationships of teenagers so well and writes with an unparalleled realness and rawness. I loved this book. It was heartbreaking but warm, unflinching yet somehow cosy. Nobody writes like Jacqueline Wilson. Long may she reign! I couldn't get the characters out of my head." - Holly Bourne 
 
A heartbreaking, compelling and timely story for older readers about teen pregnancy and its consequences, family trouble and unlikely friendships, set in 1960. 
 
When Laura meets a French exchange student, Leon, she is flattered by his interest in her. She's never had any sort of boyfriend before. 
 
One night, Leon walks Laura home - and her life will never be the same again. 
 
Things start to change for Laura - first her moods, and then her body. Laura isn't prepared for what she learns next - and doesn't even know how it could have happened. 
 
When her family learns her secret, they are horrified. Sent away to save them from shame, Laura meets girls just like herself, whose families have given up on them - and they become a family for each other at the most difficult time in all their lives. 
 
An emotional and moving tale for fans of Dear Nobody and Juno. 
Not suitable for younger readers.

Baby Love

With carefully adapted text, illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
The BFG, a Level 3 Reader, is A2 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing first conditional, past continuous and present perfect simple for general experience. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Giants are frightening and dangerous, and they eat children. Or do they? Meet the BFG, the Big Friendly Giant! Sophie becomes friends with the BFG. But there are other giants in the world, who eat people every night. Can Sophie and the BFG think of a plan to stop them?

Penguin Readers Level 3: Roald Dahl The BFG (ELT Graded Reader)

Vikas Swarup

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
Slumdog Millionaire, a Level 6 Reader, is B1+ in the CEFR framework. The longer text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing future continuous, reported questions, third conditional, was going to and ellipsis. A small number of illustrations support the text. 
 
Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a poor, eighteen-year-old waiter in Mumbai called Ram Mohammad Thomas. Ram goes on a television quiz show, and he answers all the questions correctly. But the people who work on the programme think that he has cheated, so Ram must explain how he knew the answers.

Penguin Readers Level 6: Slumdog Millionaire (ELT Graded Reader)

Michael Morpurgo

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
The Puffin Keeper, a Level 2 Reader, is A1+ in the CEFR framework. Sentences contain a maximum of two clauses, introducing the future tenses will and going to, present continuous for future meaning, and comparatives and superlatives. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages. 
 
Five-year-old Allen Williams arrives on Puffin Island and meets an old man, Benjamin Postlewaite. Ben is the lighthouse keeper, and Allen is soon friends with him. Allen travels back to the island many years later and finds Ben is keeping a puffin. Allen helps Ben to change from lighthouse keeper to puffin keeper.

Penguin Readers Level 2: The Puffin Keeper (ELT Graded Reader)

Ta-Nehisi Coates

'Ta-Nehisi Coates is the young James Joyce of the hip-hop generation' Walter Mosley 
 
Ta-Nehisi Coates grew up in the tumultuous 1980's in Baltimore known, back then, as the murder capital of the United States. 
 
With seven siblings, four mothers, and one highly unconventional father: Paul Coates, a larger-than-life Vietnam Vet, Black Panther, Ta-Nehisi's coming of age story is gripping and lays bare the troubled, often violent life of the inner-city, and the author's experience as a young black person in it. 
 
With candor, Ta-Nehisi Coates details the challenges on the streets and within one's family, especially the eternal struggle for peace between a father and son and the important role family plays in such circumstances.

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