The Picnic Levels 1-2

In The Picnic, Mum and two children each have different ideas about what makes the perfect picnic! While Mum chooses healthy snacks, the children lean toward treats like chips and cookies. This humorous contrast unfolds through repetitive sentence structures and expressive illustrations that include a cheeky family cat and dog as visual subplots. Designed to support emergent readers, this text provides opportunities for practising one-to-one word matching, directionality, and recognition of high-frequency words. The interplay of alternating perspectives between Mum and the children encourages readers to compare viewpoints and make predictions. The plural nouns and simple yet descriptive vocabulary build foundational language awareness. With its accessible structure and engaging themes of family relationships, food, and humorous misunderstandings, The Picnic is an excellent addition to early classroom reading.

Educational Benefits

• Reinforces use of plural nouns and sentence repetition for fluency.
• Supports prediction and personal connection skills.
• Highlights high-frequency vocabulary in real-world contexts.
• Encourages discussion of healthy eating and family roles.

Classroom Ideas

• Create a classroom picnic using real or pretend food and role-play.
• Compare and contrast food choices with students' preferences.
• Use the illustrations to create a œFind the Cat/Dog activity.
• Invite students to pack their own ideal picnic and explain their choices.

Safety & Information

• Suitable for ages: 4-6 years
• Book size: 165 mm x 190 mm
• Softcover, safe and durable for group reading
• No detachable or consumable parts