Review by Booklist Review
PreS^-K. In this slightly expanded version of a 1984 book, with enlarged illustrations, a merry, chaotic family of mice set out for a picnic in their red pickup. As they bounce along the bumpy dirt road, Little Bitty falls off the back of the truck. Accompanied only by a pink stuffed animal, Bitty cries a little, forages a little, and waits a little. Meanwhile, the parents discover that Bitty is missing, and all the mice search the picnic site frantically, pile into the truck, and then head back down the road, where they find her waiting. Every child who has felt lost, even for a moment, will savor the happy reunion. Page layout varies from broad, double-page paintings of a single scene to several smaller pictures on a white page. Defined by McCully's precise, energetic line drawings and brightened with washes in warm, rich colors, the ink-and-watercolor artwork will appeal to children and adults alike. With a short text and sun-dappled illustrations, this book captures the feeling of the best summer days: so joyful, so splendid that even the sad tale of a little lost mouse is sure to end happily. --Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully's Picnic, initially published in 1984 as the first in a series of wordless books about an endearing mouse family, returns here in a larger format with text added by the author/artist. The smallest member of the mouse family gets lost, but the family soon reunites for a cloudless meal al fresco. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
The original edition of [cf2]Picnic[cf1] was the first in a series of wordless books featuring an extended family of mice having adventures together. McCully's drawings are so clever, and the story unfolds in such a logical way, that even the smallest children can follow the action. Good wordless books are hard to find--unfortunately, and inexplicably, this new larger format edition has [cf2]added words[cf1]. From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Wordlessly, a mouse family packs a picnic basket (on the title page), piles into an open-backed truck, loses the youngest member going over a big bump. . . and, after some delayed dismay on both sides (the family is at first oblivious, the tiny mouse finds some solace in a raspberry patch), the truck retraces its route and a reunion is effected. At a glance, the bucolic watercolors are fetching, the little lost mouse is winsome; but in comparison with Nancy Tafuri's Have You Seen My Duckling? (below) and other treatments of this theme, the book is limp and close-to-precious. Individually, no scene compels attention save for the losing and finding of the little mouse--and, perhaps, the concluding mini-sequence when the little mouse goes back to find its own, forgotten mouse doll. If that's meant to say something, the parallel is a feeble, specious one. There's no structure or psychological grip here--just a scenic, facile, embodiment of a tried-and-true theme. Given McCully's intelligence and flair as an illustrator of zesty material, it's a pity and a waste. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
