The Lost Picnic

July 1, 2017
Granddad and his grandchildren will need plenty of help to recover all the goodies that fall out of their basket on the way to the picnic grounds.As in his Lost House (2016), Cronin relies on an intense, even garish palette to complicate the search for each errant item. The picnickers--floppy-eared, chubby-cheeked anthropomorphic white dogs--tie a big basket to the top of their car. But as they start off, the basket's lid pops open, and upon arrival: "Holy moly! It's empty!" Spread by busy spread, the lost items are keyed by ominous hints in the narrative ("A banana would be a nice treat, but they'd better wait till the picnic") and by significant dominant hues in each broad, bustling landscape through which they pass. Nevertheless, the items that bounce out of the basket are not only tiny, but hidden amid concatenations of architectural and natural features, traffic, piles of bric-a-brac, and other distractions, most colored in searing orange, pinks, yellows, and greens. The author does not provide a locational key, but he does gather images of all the food at the end so that viewers paging back will know what to look for, and he leaves his three picnickers replete and snoozing on the final page. A trippy addition to the search-and-find genre. (Picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 21, 2017
The bulldogs from The Lost House head out for a picnic in this subtle and elegantly surreal follow-up. Like that book, it’s also a seek-and-find story, but readers unfamiliar with The Lost House may not realize it until the end. Instead, Cronin traces Granddad and his grandchildren’s journey while quietly mentioning the food items that—unbeknownst to the bulldogs—are falling out of the wicker basket strapped to their vehicle. “They stop to take some pictures by a river and think about the three big pretzels they will eat later,” he writes, letting readers know what to look for. Like The Lost House, the book is filled with odd, mesmerizing details and eye-popping colors—even without something to search for, Cronin’s acrylic paintings are worth lingering over. Ages 3–7. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

August 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-It's easy to get lost in this seek-and-find book, a perfect follow-up to Cronin's The Lost House. This installment follows Grandad and the children as they make their way through a park, towns, and villages, across a river, and by a gas station on their way to a picnic, all while dreaming of the many treats they will enjoy when they get there. Each page offers something new to discover, including many of their picnic basket items that have been left along the way. The bright, saturated illustrations and enchanting spreads completely suck readers in. Cronin's recognizable style is reminiscent of that of classic picture books but has a modern feel and a vibrant neon palette. Like any good seek-and-find book, this one ends with a callout to readers: "Can you go back to the start of their journey and find all the items, so Grandad and the kids can have their picnic?" VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of The Lost House and anyone who loves to seek and find. A wonderful addition to any library, and an irresistible escape for both young and old.-Elizabeth Blake, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.