There can’t be a mum in the country who doesn’t identify with Mrs Large, wrapped in her comfortable dressing gown, doing her best to get away from her children for just five minutes peace (and managing a scant three minutes forty-five seconds)! It is 30 years since the book was first published – this handsome new hardback marks the anniversary – and it’s just as funny, accurate and real a portrait of family life as it was when it first came out. Jill Murphy’s comic timing – in words and pictures – is impeccable, and this is a book that truly deserves its status as a classic. ~ Andrea Reece
A stunning 30th anniversary edition of a family picture book favourite, this is the story of Mrs Large the elephant - who just needs five minutes of peace and quiet away from her boisterous children! So, taking refuge in the bathroom, she fills herself a hot, foamy bubble bath and takes in a tray of her favourite breakfast and the morning paper. But there's never a dull moment with the Larges, and it soon becomes clear that mum's quiet time is to be very short-lived! Family life is beautifully observed in this warm and funny modern classic from Jill Murphy, one of Britain's most treasured author-illustrators.
Jill Murphy is one of Britain’s most treasured author–illustrators. She wrote and illustrated her first book, the bestselling The Worst Witch, while still only eighteen, and went on to create the award-winning Large family series, which has sold over five million copies worldwide and been adapted for television. Jill’s other characters include a small monster called Marlon who starred in the acclaimed picture books The Last Noo-Noo and All for One, and Ruby the bunny, who stars in Jill's latest picture book, Meltdown! Jill lives in Cornwall.
