Thursday, May 20, 2010

Five Minutes Peace

It’s been one of those days already.

Five Minutes' Peace
Jill Murphy 1986

Mrs. Large just wants 5 minutes with her tea, a leftover cake, some toast and the newspaper without her children. But they follow her upstairs to the bathroom and can’t leave her alone. One has to play his recorder for her, one has to show her how well she can read her book, and the baby dumps all the toys in the tub.

"Where are you going with that tray, Mom?" asked Laura.
"To the bathroom," said Mrs. Large.
"Why?" asked the other two children.
"Because I want five minutes' peace from all of you," said Mrs. Large.
"That's why."



"Can we come?" asked Lester as they trailed up the stairs behind her.
"No," said Mrs. Large, "you can't."
"What shall we do then?" asked Laura.
"You can play," said Mrs. Large. "Downstairs. By yourselves. And keep an eye on the baby."



"Can I play you my tune?" asked Lester. Mrs. Large opened one eye. "Must you?" she asked.





Soon the children are all in the tub and Mrs. Large tries to make her escape to the kitchen for those precious 5 minutes. A short, funny little book (that most moms will appreciate).

1 comment:

  1. One of my favorite stories I use to read to my kids. We read it many times and I taught the kids that when I sat in a certain chair that I was saying "Mommy needs five minutes peace"

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