Every now and then a book crosses our path that is literally pure fun… as fun for the parents reading as it is for the children being read to, because lets face it a good book is a good book, whatever your age. Our book of the week is Five Minute’s Peace by Jill Murphy, the 30th Anniversary Edition. Yes, for thirty years Mrs Large, the mom in the family has been asking for just five minutes peace…
Let’s Meet the Book
The Large family are a delightful family of elephants, with three small children, created by childrens’ illustrator and author Jill Murphy. Any mom in the world will relate to this book so well. It is the story of mom arriving in the kitchen, not quite ready for the day, and her three youngsters are already up and at it. Self-service is the name of their game. I do not have to describe the sight before her eyes, just to say… she needed just five minutes of peace before her day launched. So she made a breakfast tray and slipped away quietly to have a bath and a cup of tea. As any mother knows, there is no such thing as slipping away quietly. She is joined in the bath, literally, one by one… by her sweet children, one is playing the recorder, one is doing school reading and the other tumbles in with all his toys, jammies and all. You have to admire Mrs Large, because she persisted with an uncanny determination, back in her gown, she left her children in the bath and returned to the kitchen… where she managed 3 minutes and forty five seconds of peace before her kids come tumbling after. We’ve all been there. This is a delightful classic, with very expressive illustrations, and it is funny because it is so relatable. Look out for more of the Large Family, they are perfect “read again and again picture books, with heartwarming stories and beautiful illustrations.
And then there is a an add-on, activity book… sweet!!! With the same illustrations as the book, there are lovely full colour pages filled with easy activities for the younger set: spot the difference, finish the puzzle, dot to dot, a maze and so on. And stickers of course, and the stickers are just adorable too… who wouldn’t want a collection of stickers of the Large Family!!!
Let’s Have a Spa Day
We decided to celebrate this book with a spa day… And all good spa days begin with a face mask.
Mix away… and pop those soothing cucumber slices onto the eyes.
Of course I am not sure if you are supposed to actually eat your face mask…
But I am guessing sparkly skin doesn’t mind where the goodness comes from.
Then we made some lip balm to go with our sparkly skin…
Warm the oil and add the the vanilla, stir away…
Pop your mixture into the fridge for a few minutes and your lip balm is good and ready.
After all this beautification we needed a snack, a pink snack of course… of the nail polish variety.
Melt the butter and marshmallows slowly in a large pot. Once the marshmallows have completely melted, toss the rice crisps into a large, well greased roasting pan. Work quickly and flatten the mixture with the back of a metal spoon. Leave the mixture to cool, and if you are in a hurry pop it into the fridge. Once the mixture is solid turn it out onto a chopping board and cut it into cubes. With a dash of icing “glue” liquorice strips onto your cubes of rice crispy treat and voila, little bottles of nail polish for a treat.
After a little munching and painting of nails we were ready to read our story again… I think with these two, spa days may have just become a regular thing around here!!!
Previous Picture Book Party Posts
This post forms part of The Picture Book Party with PanMacmillan South Africa.
- Footpath Flowers and a Bunch of Spring Flowers…
- Hoot Owl: And How to Make Your Own One…
- Where’s Wally Colouring Book: Se7en Steps to Your Own Colouring Page…
- I Am Henry Finch: And fabulous fingerprint activities…
- Aaron Becker’s Journey: And Magical Flying Carpets. And the sequel: Quest: With some Marvellous Maps.
- We Are Going on a Bear Hunt: Creating your own Memory Stories…
- Where’s Wally – The Mini Book Box Set: Make Magnificent Magical Magnifying Glasses.
- Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs: And Chocolate Cake in a Mug.
Is this not the most adorable media drop, to be sure there will be plenty of Pink Bubble Baths to follow. Thank you so much to PanMacmillan South Africa for the gift and then copy of Five Minutes’ Peace and the Activity Book for review purposes and the invitation to join the Picture Book Party. This is not a sponsored post, we were not paid to create it and the opinions expressed are, as usual, our own.