Book Description
for Picnic by John Burningham
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Boy and Girl are joined on a picnic by Sheep, Pig, and Duck, only to have the outing interrupted by a series of small mishaps. Bull chases them and they scatter and hide in the woods. Then Duck loses his scarf, the wind blows Sheep’s hat away, and Pig’s ball rolls out of sight. Each time, young readers and listeners are given the opportunity to directly engage with the story in response to a question posed in the text. “Can you find Boy, Girl, Pig, Sheep, and Duck?” is the query on the two-page spread in which they all are hiding behind separate trees. “Who is sleeping in which bed?” comes near the story’s end, after Boy and Girl invite their friends to sleep over. Finally comes the question that adults may appreciate most of all: “Can we find your bed?” John Burningham’s satisfying picture book, the prefect segue to bedtime, has illustrations that feel free-spirited and childlike. (Ages 2–4)
CCBC Choices 2015. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2015. Used with permission.