A QUIET NIGHT IN

A great birthday gift for Dad, this is a beautiful new edition of a Kate Greenaway-shortlisted story of family life in the bestselling Large series. It's Mr Large the elephant's birthday and Mrs Large is planning a nice, quiet night in – a night for just the two of them. But even with the children washed and in their pyjamas before half past four, the night doesn't unfold quite to plan! With a foreword and gorgeous foil on the cover and spine, this is a beautiful book to treasure.

Reviews:

AThe Larges are back. This time, the pachyderms' parental goal is getting the children to bed early so that Mom and Dad can celebrate Mr. Large's birthday with "a quiet night in." Youth, of course, gently triumphs over age: the parents snooze on the sofa, site of the bedtime story, and the children take off upstairs to enjoy whatever wine, fruit, and bread hasn't spilled from the trays that Mrs. Large had prepared. Murphy's pictures have the same affectionate feel for children's daily lives as her text. The grumpy looks at bath time and the bickering over a storybook about Binky Bus and Micky Milktruck are vintage. Mary Harris Veeder, Booklist

"Exhausted parents everywhere," to whom Murphy dedicates this work, will be as tickled as their young ones by her jovial story, the fourth book featuring the Large family--those precocious, precious pachyderms who made their debut in Five Minutes' Peace . "It's Daddy's birthday, and we're going to have a quiet night in," Mrs. Large informs her four children. Resigned to the fact that they are expected to go to bed early to ensure their parents a tranquil evening, the young elephants, markers and paintbrushes in trunk, make decorations for the dinner table. But, alas, Mrs. Large's romantic repast never materializes. Mr. Large comes home from work very weary, and falls asleep while reading the kids a bedtime story. Publishers Weekly