Meet the Large family (A Quiet Night in - Jill Murphy)

Member Name: Karenwilson

Product:	A Quiet Night in - Jill Murphy
Date:	24/09/01 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great read

Disadvantages: none

Its Mr Large’s birthday and Mrs Large is planning a quiet night in for him. When she is getting the children ready for school she tells them that they have to go to bed early because its their dads birthday and she wants him to have a peaceful evening for a change.

The children cannot understand why they cannot stay up, so Mrs Large explains that they are like a herd of elephants charging around. One of the children informs their mother that they are a herd of elephants and she calls them smartypants.

The evening is planned with precision. Mrs Large manages to get the children bathed and in their pyjamas before they had even had their tea. Lester the oldest elephant is not happy with this arrangement and proceeds to tell his mother that it’s only half past four and not even dark yet.

After tea the children make place cards and decorations for the dinner table as a surprise for their father. Then they attempt to tidy up but of course Mrs Large has to go around after them and do the job properly.

Eventually poor Mr Large arrives home looking extremely tired. The children explain that they are off to bed early so he can have some peace and quiet. Mrs Large and the children eagerly ask Mr Large to come and have a look at the table they have arranged for him, but he is so exhausted and comfy on the sofa that he asks if he could have his dinner in front of the television tonight. Well it is his birthday.

Before bedtime the children beg Mr Large to read them a story and he reluctantly does so. Lester picks the book and its called “Micky Milkfloat” much to the annoyance of Laura as she thinks it’s a boy’s book. Mr Large is getting fed up he has not even started reading yet and they are arguing. He tells them to stop, or he will not read it. Quickly they are quiet and he begins to read to all four of his children. They all sit and listen intently to the story, when after a while
he stops reading. They all look up at their father to see that he has fallen fast asleep.

They go and tell their mother what has happened and she promises to finish off the story for them. She squashes up onto the sofa and begins to read them the story. After a while Mrs Large stops reading and the children hear a strange noise. They realise its their mother snoring and agree that their parents must be really tired. So they creep off the sofa and fetch a blanket for them both. They cover them in the blanket and tuck it neatly into the sofa.

They decide that it’s a shame to waste all of the good food their mother had prepared so they head upstairs to bed complete with a tray full of food.

I am sorry to give away most of the story line but if you have never read any of Jill Murphy’s books, you are really missing out. Children love hearing stories about the Large family, following them through their day to day lives. The pictures are really colourful and detailed and very eye catching even for very young children. What always makes me laugh about the pictures are one minute they are dressed in a school uniform and are portrayed more like normal children, than elephants and then if you look closely at the picture it shows Mrs Large brushing Laura’s hair with a horse’s brush !!

The books also appeal to adults as the author shows the normal mayhem we all experience having a family. These books should be placed in a category for people thinking about having children; they should read Jill Murphy books first as she shows family life as it really is.

Another great book of hers is Called “Five Minutes Peace” which also follows the Large family through a hectic morning.

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