La Compagnie des frères de bacchique de Pique-Nique (1649)

La Compagnie des frères de bacchique de Pique-Nique (1649)

P During the War of the Fronde, supporters on all sides of the contributed by writing vers burlesques satirizing all parties: Jules Cardinal Mazarin, the Queen mother, under-age King Louis XIV, the Prince of Condé, members of parliament, guild members and the...
Ford Madox Ford’s “Banquet at Calanques” (1932)

Ford Madox Ford’s “Banquet at Calanques” (1932)

Ford’s “Banquet at Calanques” makes his life in 1932 seem picnicky. He remembered that brilliant day and the “Homeric feast” enthusiastically. But by the time it was published in 1937, Ford was at various times ailing and depressed,...
Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi’s Extraordinary Ordinary Day (1945)

Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi’s Extraordinary Ordinary Day (1945)

Astrid Lindgren’s zany picnic is a gastronomical feast. The chief picnicker is Pippi Longstocking, a brash, energetic, good-natured Swedish girl of nine who lives independently packs her own picnic. After zipping through some household chores, Pippi takes her...
Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge: A  Spring Story (1980)

Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge: A Spring Story (1980)

Wilfred Toadflax’s surprise birthday is a picnic feast of cakes, pies, jellies, and fruits. It’s the kind of high-carb meal that makes your teeth hurt. Mr. Apple’s grace suggests that the food is local, but not as he suggests from “our green...
Jacqueline Woodson’s We Had a Picnic Sunday Past  (1997)

Jacqueline Woodson’s We Had a Picnic Sunday Past (1997)

Woodson’s We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past (1997) is a joyous family gathering with mounds to eat. It’s a story about an African American family reunion picnic in an urban park. The narrator, a young girl, comes with her Grandma, who has worked frying...