Piglet’s Picnic: A Story about Food and Counting

Piglet invites her friends for a picnic and asks them to bring their favourite foods. But not everyone likes bugs or grass or wriggly worms... The bold collage illustrations are full of lively colour and the characterization of the animals is excellent, with subtle facial expressions mixed with dynamic action. The story encourages children to think about what different animals like to eat. There is a pleasing use of language, with a varied vocabulary such as hungry, famished, starving and ravenous. The gentle repetition of phrases is used throughout to good effect. In addition, Piglet’s Picnic is also a pleasant introduction to counting as new animals join the group. An optimal age range for this book would be around 4 to 5 due to the amount of text and the paper gate fold flaps. The final double gatefold spread makes for a surprise denouement and is also a perfect opportunity to practise new counting skills.