They were also made into a successful 1986 film and an ITV series, airing on CITV between 1998 and 2001. Murphy is also known for picture books, especially the "Large Family" series, which detail the domestic chaos of an elephant family. First published in 1986, "Five Minutes Peace" has sold more than five million copies worldwide and has been translated into 19 languages. For the second book, "All in One Piece" (1987), she was a commended runner-up for the Greenaway Medal from the British Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject (the second of her two commendations). The "Large Family" is now a TV series on CBeebies and ABC Kids. In 1996 "The Last Noo-Noo" was adapted as a play and performed at the Polka Theatre, London. Murphy also wrote "Dear Hound" (2010), about a deerhound who goes missing after a storm and the quest for his owners to find him. Murphy gave birth to her son Charlie in spring 1990. Her marriage to potter Roger Michell ended in divorce. She lives in St Mabyn, Cornwall. In 2007, Murphy received an honorary fellowship from University College Falmouth.