Peace At Last - Jill Murphy

Books shouldn’t just be for bedtimes. Though I had bedtime stories for many years (erm, about 10. And then some more when I was doing A Levels. Don’t ask.), we also had morning story time and lunchtime story time and afternoon story time in our house. Because books are important, but more importantly, because books are fun. Though this book is set at night, and covers sleeping and related topics, it’s an any-time-of-day book. After a pleasant day in their world, and a nice winding down supper time, Mr and Mrs Bear and their only child Baby Bear are tucked up in bed, trying to get some sleep. Mrs Bear dozes off the second her head touches ...  Read the complete review

Daddy Bear, Mummy Bear and Baby Bear are all very tired and so retire for the night, however for some this is where the action starts! My son is now in year 2 at primary school and they have a weekly trip to the school library where they have a free choice of a book to take home for the week to read and enjoy with parents, my son chose "Peace at Last" by Jill Murphy. Peace at Last is written and illustrated by Jill Murphy, it is a book that is great for bedtime reading but also suitable at other times, we read the story at various times over the week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The basic plot surrounds poor Daddy Bear and his inability to get to ...  Read the complete review

This wonderful story was written by the famous children's author, Jill Murphy and I have fond memories of reading it when I was a little girl. I just had to bring it home and relive these memories when I found it at the local library. The story tells of three bears who are very tired so decide to go to bed as it's late. Mrs Bear falls asleep very quickly but Mr bear can't seem to drift off. He is disturbed by various different things throughout the night including Mrs Bear snoring, baby bear playing and the tap dripping. He finally goes back to bed and just as he shuts his eyes, the alarm bell starts ringing. The illustrations in the book are rather ...  Read the complete review

Jill Murphy's 'Peace at Last' is the story of Mr Bear's quest for a quiet night's sleep. The book appears to feature the three bears of Goldilocks fame: Mr Bear, Mrs Bear and Baby Bear, who are first seen at the end of the day, very sleepy, then making their way up the stairs to bed. Mrs Bear falls asleep straight away, but she begins to snore heavily and sleep therefore eludes Mr Bear. He decides to go and spend the night in his son's room, but finds Baby Bear still wide awake, playing aeroplanes and making 'NYAAOW' noises. So it's back downstairs for Mr Bear, where he goes from the living-room to the kitchen to the garden, but each place has its annoying ...  Read the complete review

When I read this to a group of 4 and 5 year olds today, it was really hard to believe that this book is infact a quarter of a century old, how old does that make me feel?! Written in 1980, this was Jill Murphy's fist picture book and was commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Jill had already written the Worst Witch stories which are still enjoyed by the Year 2 children at my school, it has to be said though, it's predominantly the girls who enjoy this series. Peace At Last, however is 'unisex' in the sense that it is enjoyed by the girls and boys I read it to. ******** The Story ******** It begins at bedtime. ...  Read the complete review