The novel

Telling of the everyday life of a rural family that has moved to the city of Cape Town, as narrated by the teenage daughter Grietjie, the tale was originally written for a writing competition sponsored by the Vroue Landbouvereniging[] ("Women's Agricultural Association"), it was published in serial form in the women's magazine Sarie Marais in 196* and was subsequently published in book form by in 1968.

Louw received the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns's Scheepersprys for youth literature for it in 1968.

The film (1965)

The novel filmed and distributed by Carfo in 1965. The sources are rather contradictory regarding the film production, though they agree on the date and the cast. For example some sources (e.g. the Afrikaans Wikipedia) name Kappie Botha as the adaptor, scriptwriter and director, while the probably more authoritative IMDb entry on the film has a different set of crew members, naming Kappie Botha only as the cinematographer, and listing Euodia Kritzinger as scriptwriter, Tim Spring as director/lighting designer and David Neppe as film editor.

The cast (in credits order) is listed by IMDb [1] as: P.W. Botha P.W. Botha ... Oupa Helen van Pletzen Helen van Pletzen ... Ouma Jemima Wessels Jemima Wessels ... Grietjie Elma Marais Elma Marais ... Petro Ben van der Merwe Ben van der Merwe ... Pa Bertha Visser Bertha Visser ... Ma Louis van Niekerk Louis van Niekerk ... Mnr. Oberholster Francois van Wyk Francois van Wyk ... Lodewyk van Dyk Lambert Millar Lambert Millar ... Mauritz de Lange Neels de Klerk Neels de Klerk ... John Blackwood

The cast consisted of: • PW Botha • Helen van Pletzen • Ben van der Merwe • Bertha Visser • Jamima Wessels • Elma Marais • Louis van Niekerk