Just Five Minutes (Five Minutes' Peace - Jill Murphy)

Member Name: Karenwilson

Product:	Five Minutes' Peace - Jill Murphy
Date:	08/02/01 (78 review reads)
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I decided to purchase this book on the recommendations of the Dooyoo Members. Their opinions were so right about this book it really is a short but excellent read.

The story is based around a young family of elephants. Mrs Large has three children Lester, Laura and Baby and all the poor Mother wants as the title suggests is “Five Minutes Peace”.

Mrs Large makes herself a lovely breakfast and tries to sneak off upstairs and have a little time for herself. The children however are already eating their breakfast and the kitchen now looks like a bomb has hit it. There are cornflakes over the floor, spilt drinks and toys everywhere. Sounds familiar unfortunately it does to me and I expect most parents with young children. Mealtimes in my house must be similar to feeding time at the local zoo!

Anyway back to the story, Mrs Large gets caught sneaking off and is hastily followed up the stairs by her three little children asking her where she is going and that all to frequently used word “WHY”. She manages to run herself a deep, hot bath and plonks herself into it sighing with relief at the prospect of perhaps today she may have a lovely soak in the bath in peace. Of course it was obvious really that she was never going to be so lucky and in enters the first of the children armed with a recorder ready to practise his skills. Poor Mrs Large, Twinkle Twinkle was then drummed into her ears and played over and over again, well in fact three and a half times. Next to walk in is Laura who wants to read a book to her Mother. When Mrs Large then tells them to go downstairs, Laura gets offended as she now puts the guilt trip on her Mother because she listened to Lester play his recorder and now will not listen to her read a book. She then has to sit and listen to four and a half pages of Little Red Riding Hood being read to her. Finally the youngest enters the bathroom and proceeds to chuck all his toys into the bath
water. Before long they all get into the bath and the exhausted Mother ends up getting out.

Mrs Little then dries herself and slopes off downstairs to get that precious five minutes peace she has longed for. She ended up getting only three minutes and forty- five seconds before her children joined her.

This book is complete reality that every parent can relate to. I have two young children under the age of four and even trying to write this opinion I have had to keep stopping and make them drinks, food and try and make them entertain themselves for just FIVE MINUTES. This book will be kept by my bedside so when I am feeling broody again I will just flip open this book and read it again.

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