The Quigleys [Paperback]

Simon Mason (Author), Helen Stephens (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Quigleys

Four funny and fabulous stories told by each member of the unforgettable Quigley family. Meet Dad, Mum, Will, and Lucy, whose hilarious exploits have created a modern classic for bedtime reading, a treat to be enjoyed by both old and young.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mason, a British novelist making his children's book debut, affects a blithe tone for this engaging bit of fluff about the humorous vexations of an ordinary British family. A quartet of chapters introduces the Quigleys Dad, Lucy, Mum and Will each of whom commandeers a separate adventure. For instance, disaster almost strikes when Dad baby-sits the neighbors' children and one of them disappears while Dad is distracted by a football (soccer) match on television (she's eventually found asleep inside a duvet cover). For her star turn, Lucy insists on wearing a bee costume instead of a bridesmaid's dress to a wedding; she and Will later conspire to give Mum a birthday she'll never forget; and Will finagles a fine-feathered Christmas present for himself. Mason keeps the tone light and larky: "There was a mass of rose bushes in the front yard and a smell of cat. The Quigleys didn't have a cat. The smell was made by other people's cats." The result is a mildly eccentric British version of, say, Beverly Cleary's Quimby family. While the slim story doesn't have the substance of a Cleary tale, it's reasonably diverting with the minor exception of Mr. Quigley's repeated use of the phrase "Christ Almighty!" which may not wash for some readers on this side of the pond. Illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 5-12.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-In this quick read, each of four chapters is devoted to a different member of the Quigley family. Dad baby-sits for neighbors and manages to "lose" one of the children temporarily, headstrong Lucy appears as a junior bridesmaid in a self-made bee costume, Lucy and Will guiltily try to make up for being beastly on Mum's birthday, and Will finally gets the pet he wants. Children will enjoy the plentiful dialogue, likable family, mixture of low-key and over-the-top humor, and occasional black-line illustrations. Others may note, and some be bothered by, details not usually included in popular reading for this audience: the siblings make Mum a decidedly mixed drink to cheer her up, are tolerant of Dad's swearing ("Christ Almighty"), and observe an adult's speech impediment as "frightening." However, the story presents a slice of British family life in an urban neighborhood that readers who enjoy the saucy "Junie B. Jones" series (Random) can slide right into.
Susan Hepler, Burgundy Farm Country Day School, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (October 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440418984
• ISBN-13: 978-0440418986
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.4 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,791,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A family we can easily grow to love and laugh with., July 1, 2004

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Quigleys (Paperback)

The Quigleys are a pretty ordinary family. There is Mum, Dad, Lucy and Will. They each have a story in this little book, and the stories are sort of ... well ... ordinary. And yet these four stories manage to be funny and special in their own way.

For example, in the first story, Dad wants very much to watch a football game but has also agreed to babysit his best friend's children. He sees no conflict between watching his game and babysitting. However, he does not factor in the sheer determination of the children to be as difficult and obnoxious as possible. What follows is a comical series of events, a tussle of wills between Dad and the children. Finally, Dad decides to ignore the kids and their shenanigans. He watches his game and things settle down. It is only later when he checks on the children that he discovers one of them is missing. Who would have thought so much chaos could ensue from something as simple as babysitting and watching a football game?

The other stories are similar in that a very simple idea grows into something so much bigger than it was before --- something funny and memorable. The little girl of the family, Lucy, decides that she is going to participate in a wedding dressed up as a bee instead of wearing some silly bridesmaid dress. Will, her brother, wants a Harpy Eagle for Christmas, while Mum has what appears to be a truly awful birthday. But somehow, by a miracle of sorts, the day turns out to be not so bad after all.

With that gentle tongue-in-cheek and classic understated humor, Simon Mason has created a family we can easily grow to love and laugh with.

--- Reviewed by Marya Jansen-Gruber ([e-mail])

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious Book, April 16, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Quigleys (Quigleys S.) (Hardcover)

It is a great book and hilariously funny. There are four chapters, one for each family member. The dad's chapter is about when he baby sits. He doesn't pay attention to the kids. He watches a soccer game and loses the littlest girl, Pokehead. The Mum's chapter is when she has a birthday, which gets ruined, because it is really stormy, and the dad gets stuck on the train and can't take her to the play. She is sick, so the kids bring her some little alcoholic drinks, and the kids dance. When the dad comes in, he dances with them. In Lucy's chapter, she is a bridesmaid, but she doesn't want to wear a bridesmaid's dress, she wants to wear a bee costume. In Will's chapter, he wants to get a Harpy Eagle for Christmas, but his parents don't want to get him one, so they get him something else for Christmas.

5.0 out of 5 stars Outrageous Fun!, October 21, 2011

By 

Dawn Kvande (Memphis, TN United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quigleys (Paperback)

My daughter laughs out loud when she reads the outrageous escapades of the Quigley Family, no matter how many times she has read the books before. This one was just as fun as the others.