Mother Knows Best! by Jill Murphy

I'm a great fan of Jill Murphy's books and her Worst Witch series was a great hit in our house. However my daughter didn't much appreciate Five Minutes' Peace mainly, I think, because she thought I was hinting I'd like some quiet time!

Mother Knows Best! which Jill Murphy also illustrated is dedicated to "all mums everywhere" and I have a suspicion it's written more for the mothers who will be reading it to their small children.

The book is a sort of "life in the day of" Bradley, a small bear who continually asks his mum questions beginning with "can I wear my pyjamas all day?" Then it's on to a request for ice cream for breakfast, a suggestion of a dinosaur as a pet and so on throughout the day. Each question begins with a "Mu-u-um" and is followed by a "Why not?" when his mother turns down a demand. By the afternoon she is exasperated when he asks to go to the park by himself, loses her cool, and shouts "because MOTHER KNOWS BEST!" And off they go to the park together.

This is an enchanting book from the award-winning author-illustrator who depicts family life and the irrational demands of our offspring in a gently amusing way.

PWT rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Mother Knows Bestis available from Amazon.