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Celebrate thirty years of the Large family in this stunning anniversary edition of a modern picture book classic.
"If you are not familiar with these stories, you really have not lived ... you just couldn't get better" Guardian
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.
About the author
Jill was born and brought up in London and says that she can't remember a time she wasn't a storyteller/illustrator. By the age of six, Jill was stapling her own little illustrated storybooks together - her mum kept them all and she still has them today! Jill left school at sixteen, and went on to attend both Chelsea Art School and Croydon Art School. Two years later, she finished her first novel The Worst Witch, about a little witch who doesn't fit in at her new school - a story she says was heavily based on her experiences at the convent. She sent it off to three big London publishers, who all turned it down, and Jill "put it in a drawer and decided to concentrate on other things instead." After a spell working as a nanny and in a children's home, which she loved, Jill had a phone call from a small publisher interested in The Worst Witch. It was printed when she was twenty-four, sold out almost immediately, and Jill knew for sure she wanted to follow a career as an author/illustrator.
Jill has written and illustrated numerous books since The Worst Witch was published, including three more books about little witch Mildred Hubble. Jill's work has won her numerous prizes and awards; her first picture book, Peace at Last was Commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal and she was shortlisted for the same Medal for A Quiet Night In, the first of the Mr and Mrs Large picture books about the endearing domestic chaos of an elephant family. The Last Noo-noo, about a small monster called Marlon, won three awards, including the Smarties Book Prize, and Marlon returns again in the acclaimed All For One.
Jill was born and brought up in London and says that she can't remember a time she wasn't a storyteller/illustrator. By the age of six, Jill was stapling her own little illustrated storybooks together - her mum kept them all and she still has them today! Jill left school at sixteen, and went on to attend both Chelsea Art School and Croydon Art School. Two years later, she finished her first novel The Worst Witch, about a little witch who doesn't fit in at her new school - a story she says was heavily based on her experiences at the convent. She sent it off to three big London publishers, who all turned it down, and Jill "put it in a drawer and decided to concentrate on other things instead." After a spell working as a nanny and in a children's home, which she loved, Jill had a phone call from a small publisher interested in The Worst Witch. It was printed when she was twenty-four, sold out almost immediately, and Jill knew for sure she wanted to follow a career as an author/illustrator.
Jill has written and illustrated numerous books since The Worst Witch was published, including three more books about little witch Mildred Hubble. Jill's work has won her numerous prizes and awards; her first picture book, Peace at Last was Commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal and she was shortlisted for the same Medal for A Quiet Night In, the first of the Mr and Mrs Large picture books about the endearing domestic chaos of an elephant family. The Last Noo-noo, about a small monster called Marlon, won three awards, including the Smarties Book Prize, and Marlon returns again in the acclaimed All For One.
Summary
Celebrate thirty years of the Large family in this stunning anniversary edition of a modern picture book classic.
Report
Thirtieth anniversary edition of the astutely observed Large family classic, well timed for Mother's Day purchases. Fiona Noble The Bookseller
