One of my favorites as a kid, I have a feeling my parents felt a bit like Mr. & Mrs. whenever they tried to go on a date and were slowed down by the well-meaning interruptions of their young children. ( )

Another review I read said this one is tricky to read to children since it seems to be written more for parents. True. But my seven-year-old got it and thought it was funny. Yeah, the book might have been a strange combination of too old and too young for him, but he liked it anyway. And I like it. Besides we were already familiar with the Large family. And the book works well when you promise your kid a good night story, but it's late and you really need a short one. :) ( )

Like Five Minutes' Peace, this book is tricky to read to children, seeming to have been written more for mothers than anyone else. The style is all children's picture book. It's the plot, with its underlying content of a mother not being entirely enraptured with her children every second of her life, which needs to be sensitively communicated to the younger set. Still, the story of Mrs. Large's desperate attempt to get out of the house for the night with her outfit intact is as reassuring as it is familiar. Jill Murphy captures the goings-on of every home with young children yet again. Sure to elicit parental chuckles. ( )