Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1252852 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 60 pages

From Amazon.co.uk
Jill Murphy has been hitting the nail of family life well and truly on the head with the everyday adventures of the rather marvellous Large family--the long-suffering Mrs Large with her erstwhile hubby Mr Large doing battle with Lester, Laura and the baby.

The Large Family Album brings together four classic Large stories in one bumper volume.Five Minutes Peace, with Mrs Large desperately trying to escape the family for just a little while, is an absolute classic; All In One Piece sees Mr and Mrs Large trying to escape for a night out without the kids; A Piece of Cake has Mrs Large putting the entire family on a diet and A Quiet Night In that Mrs Large has planned for her husband's birthday turns out to be not quite what she had in mind...

A fantastic collection of picture stories, beautifully written and illustrated with a classic wit that will strike a chord in every family, The Large Family Album is one book that no home should be without. (Age 4 and over) --Susan Harrison

From Publishers Weekly
"Exhausted parents everywhere," to whom Murphy dedicates this work, will be as tickled as their young ones by her jovial story, the fourth book featuring the Large family--those precocious, precious pachyderms who made their debut in Five Minutes' Peace . "It's Daddy's birthday, and we're going to have a quiet night in," Mrs. Large informs her four children. Resigned to the fact that they are expected to go to bed early to ensure their parents a tranquil evening, the young elephants, markers and paintbrushes in trunk, make decorations for the dinner table. But, alas, Mrs. Large's romantic repast never materializes. Mr. Large comes home from work very weary, and falls asleep while reading the kids a bedtime story. And guess who does the same when she takes over? After covering their dozing parents with a blanket, the children, resolving that it would be a pity to waste the birthday meal, carry it upstairs for a bedtime snack, spilling merrily as they go. Brimming with droll particulars, Murphy's colored-pencil renditions of the family's antics are as spirited as ever--and are an ideal match for her cleverly understated text. Ages 3-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-Mr. and Mrs. Large and their four children are back. This time Mrs. Large wants her husband to enjoy a quiet birthday evening at home. Her "helpful" children innocently impede her preparations for a special dinner-for-two, and then beg for a bedtime story as a reward for going to bed early. Finally leaving their exhausted parents dinnerless and sound asleep on the sofa, they trail off to bed quietly, taking Mr. and Mrs. Large's special repast with them. Another hilarious chapter in the elephant family's chronicles, this is a definite winner. The illustrations are first rate; especially priceless are the expressions on the elephants' faces. The text is full of humor and instantly recognizable as true to life; the story is a fine example of a happy, loving family. Not to be missed.
Judy Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A REALLY LARGE BEDTIME STORY
When thinking of animals in bedtime stories one often thinks of rabbits, kitten, puppies, all sort of cuddly creatures. Rarely does one consider an elephant but, thanks to Jill Murphy, change that thinking.

Mr. Large, the lovable head of an elephant family finds that reading bedtime stories puts him to sleep rather than his children. Just think of the sounds that nose (or trunk) could make!

Amusing and imaginative, A Quite Night In boasts artwork that shines with color.

Excellent
Once again the Large Family come up trumps or is that trunks! Hilarious, it had both me and my children laughing hysterically!