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Mrs. Armitage
Mrs. Armitage and the Big Wave
Mrs Armitage and the Big Wave
32 pages, Hardcover
First published June 23, 1997
About the author
Quentin Blake
765 books747 followersSir Quentin Saxby Blake is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his lasting contribution as a children's illustrator he won the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. From 1999 to 2001, he was the inaugural British Children's Laureate. He is a patron of the Association of Illustrators.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
June 23, 2020
Read many, many times when mine were small. A fun story about Mrs Armitage and her dog Breakspear going surfing.
This story will appeal to those who enjoy dog stories, Breakspear is a very endearing dog character who enjoys the adventure as much as his intrepid companion. This also has great appeal for those who enjoy inventions as Mrs Armitage is always making little editions to her equipment to make life easier. This is an exciting story with a climactic end. Nice to see an independent, older female portrayed as fit, capable and saving the day!
Read on open library.
This story will appeal to those who enjoy dog stories, Breakspear is a very endearing dog character who enjoys the adventure as much as his intrepid companion. This also has great appeal for those who enjoy inventions as Mrs Armitage is always making little editions to her equipment to make life easier. This is an exciting story with a climactic end. Nice to see an independent, older female portrayed as fit, capable and saving the day!
Read on open library.
December 31, 2022
Mrs Armitage is always looking for ways to improve her situation. In this story Mrs Armitage goes surfing with her dog Breakspear. She is constantly refining and adding to her surfboard until she is satisfied that she has the perfect one. Full of enthusiasm, adventure and creative inventiveness, Mrs Armitage is a fantastic role model for young children.
December 7, 2011
All I can say is it was definitely fun to read. All about Mrs. Armitage and her faithful dog Breakspear waiting for a BIG WAVE.
She swam back to the beach a number of times to get different things to make their wait comfortable! By the time they get their big wave, there was plenty of things to keep them comfortable. She saved a girl and caught a big wave, did a few tricks and landed at the beach, celebrated at the cafe and back out to catch another wave. A fun filled short story and amusing to read, easy and cheerful to listeners. I liked how she made an entrance once she had her perfect wave. To finish the story she had added a kite to her array of items already out with her on the BIG WAVE.
Images also drawn by the author were creative and could tell the story well without the words.
I would recommend this book for yr2 onwards.
She swam back to the beach a number of times to get different things to make their wait comfortable! By the time they get their big wave, there was plenty of things to keep them comfortable. She saved a girl and caught a big wave, did a few tricks and landed at the beach, celebrated at the cafe and back out to catch another wave. A fun filled short story and amusing to read, easy and cheerful to listeners. I liked how she made an entrance once she had her perfect wave. To finish the story she had added a kite to her array of items already out with her on the BIG WAVE.
Images also drawn by the author were creative and could tell the story well without the words.
I would recommend this book for yr2 onwards.
October 14, 2021
A bit too silly & kooky for me, I'm afraid. I guess I'm just a cranky old lady. Believe me, I'd rather be as adventurous as Missus A.; she might be even older than I but she sure does know how to have fun!
February 26, 2020
Fantastic illustrations and a very nice story enjoyed by children.
June 7, 2025
The best of the Mrs Armitage books.
September 2, 2013
Mrs Armitage and the Big Wave is a humorous story involving the main character (Mrs Armitage) and her dog (Breakspear) waiting in the ocean for a big wave to come so they could surf. As they were waiting for such a long time Mrs Armitage kept swimming back to shore to get supplies, such as food and a megaphone. Thanks to her many trips back and forth to the beach, Mrs Armitage had the tools required to help a little girl who was in trouble in the ocean and deliver her back to her parents. The story ends with Mrs Armitage and Breakspear finally riding a wave, just for fun!
This story was fun for me to read, waiting to see what Mrs Armitage was going to go back to the beach for next! Though Mrs Armitage needed to keep going ashore for more supplies, she did so in a cheery manner, ready to tackle the next problem with a smile on her face. This would be a good story to read to children as the repetition would keep them interested and guessing. I would use this book for foundation/key stage 1 children as a book just for story time, an example of how to keep going even when more things still need to be done or just to calm them down after coming in from lunch time! I’d leave it in the book corner for them to read or just look at the colourful pictures which tell a story of their own.
It would also be good to use in a literacy lesson. With Mrs Armitage keep going back for one thing or another, it could be used for children to do their own creative writing, deciding what she should go back for next to make her trip at sea more enjoyable and help defend her from sharks!
This story was fun for me to read, waiting to see what Mrs Armitage was going to go back to the beach for next! Though Mrs Armitage needed to keep going ashore for more supplies, she did so in a cheery manner, ready to tackle the next problem with a smile on her face. This would be a good story to read to children as the repetition would keep them interested and guessing. I would use this book for foundation/key stage 1 children as a book just for story time, an example of how to keep going even when more things still need to be done or just to calm them down after coming in from lunch time! I’d leave it in the book corner for them to read or just look at the colourful pictures which tell a story of their own.
It would also be good to use in a literacy lesson. With Mrs Armitage keep going back for one thing or another, it could be used for children to do their own creative writing, deciding what she should go back for next to make her trip at sea more enjoyable and help defend her from sharks!
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November 30, 2020Great book for children, has an element of comedy which all children love and it creates suspense as you are left wondering what is going to happen when the “big wave” comes, if ever! Discuss the front cover and what they think it might be about, why is the dog there too?
There is repetition of the phrase “what we need here is...” - the children could predict what they think Mrs Armitage might need now based on what has happened.
Also some cross-curricular links to geography in terms of the wind sock, ask the children what it is? What is it’s purpose? Why might it be of use to Mrs Armitage?
There is repetition of the phrase “what we need here is...” - the children could predict what they think Mrs Armitage might need now based on what has happened.
Also some cross-curricular links to geography in terms of the wind sock, ask the children what it is? What is it’s purpose? Why might it be of use to Mrs Armitage?
June 25, 2021
Mrs. Armitage was on her way to the beach.
She was wearing her surfing gear and she
carried her surfboard under her arm.
Breakspear the dog ran alongside.
Tania and I do love a Quentin Blake and found this today on our charity shop pootle around Barnet. We will miss the quantity of good books in North London when we move!
This isn't the first Mrs Armitage book but you don't need to have read any of the others to enjoy it.
It is a playful story about a day at the beach. Each time Mrs Armitage and Breakspear are ready to relax they find they need just one more thing to make it more comfortable. And so the story builds.
A lot of fun. 3.5 stars.
She was wearing her surfing gear and she
carried her surfboard under her arm.
Breakspear the dog ran alongside.
Tania and I do love a Quentin Blake and found this today on our charity shop pootle around Barnet. We will miss the quantity of good books in North London when we move!
This isn't the first Mrs Armitage book but you don't need to have read any of the others to enjoy it.
It is a playful story about a day at the beach. Each time Mrs Armitage and Breakspear are ready to relax they find they need just one more thing to make it more comfortable. And so the story builds.
A lot of fun. 3.5 stars.
June 2, 2019
A fun story about all the supplies Mrs. Armitage and her faithful dog companion Breakspear accumulated while waiting for the big wave. There is a bit of adventure once the big wave finally arrives. The illustrations are lively and full of expression.
February 6, 2018
Can you say "surfs up"!
March 19, 2019
Funny little book, not as funny as Roald Dahl, but almost.
August 8, 2019
Mrs. Armitage and her dog, Breakspear, swim out to wait for the big wave, but Mrs. A keeps returning to the shore to retrieve her creature comforts.
December 31, 2019
A jolly five-minute read, but I could spend hours looking at Quentin Blake’s marvellous illustrations.
January 27, 2020
Strange
April 27, 2020
I adore Mrs. Armitage.
December 17, 2022
The pictures are amazing
January 12, 2023
Mrs. Armitage is simply awesome
October 25, 2025
what does she really need tho??? the illustrations were amazing and my young cousin highly enjoyed it
December 29, 2025
I won't overexplain why I found this book dull. I just did.
December 31, 2011
This is a humorous look at surfing. The storyline reminded us of a funnier version of Not the Piano, Mrs. Medley! The illustrations are very funny and we liked how skillfully Mrs. Armitage was able to navigate her collection of surfboards, floaties and what-not. We enjoyed reading this story together and we will look for other Mrs. Armitage books at our local library.
March 2, 2009
I was inspired to read this after reading Mrs. Armitage Queen of the Road, which I liked because of the humour of a proper older lady becoming a bikie. This book lacks that humour, she's never portrayed as a 'proper' lady in this book (the book opens with her in her 'surfing kit').
It also struck me that Mrs Armitage really needs to find a better surf break - it takes forever for the Big Wave to come.
In all acceptable, but nothing fantastic.
It also struck me that Mrs Armitage really needs to find a better surf break - it takes forever for the Big Wave to come.
In all acceptable, but nothing fantastic.
June 20, 2014
Mrs Armitage is waiting for the big wave to come in the Californian sun so she can surf aboard it. As she waits she collects things to make the wave even more special. She encounters other surfers, and fish that give her ideas of how toThe story is a great read for younger children who could explore what they might take with them on a trip. It could also serve as an starting point to talk about the beach as a topic. This would be a good book for anyone in ks1.
February 12, 2016
Mrs. Armitage and her dog Breakspear are at the beach to catch a Big Wave surfing. They paddle out and wait and wait and while they are waiting Mrs. Armitage keeps thinking of things they need to make the wait better. So, she goes back and forth from beach to surf bringing a variety of things to help them wait for the Big Wave.
Kooky and fun illustrations.
Kooky and fun illustrations.
April 28, 2015
This book I really didn't like nor dislike. To me this book wasn't very interesting but to some students this book may be. I could see using this book was a prediction book possibly for students to guess what the woman and dog need next. I didn't particular like the illustrations either.
August 14, 2018
Álbum muy bonito y vibrante, gracias a las ilustraciones del propio autor. Su historia es sencilla, pero encierra muchos detalles que nos hacen pensar, es casi como un libro caleidoscópico, con pequeñas pistas brillantes. Uno de mis favoritos.
December 12, 2011
Mrs. Armitage and her dog, Breakspear, go out to the beach to catch the big wave. As they wait, they discover they need a few things...
Fun story. Blake's illustrations are amazing as usual.
Fun story. Blake's illustrations are amazing as usual.
April 3, 2014
A quirky woman, her faithful dog, and a fun beach story. Endearing to me because she reminds me of dear Liz.
June 3, 2015
Variation on a theme of adding to modes of transport; this time a surfboard rather than bicycle.
January 3, 2015
This book is fantastic. Such a fun story and the pictures are wonderful!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews