Duck arrives at Raccoon’s house eager to go on the picnic they’ve planned, but Raccoon has changed his mind. They could be attacked by killer bees, fall into a river, be chased by a dragon! “AAAAAaaa!” Duck agrees that picnics are dangerous, until he starts thinking about all the nice things that could happen. There might be butterflies instead of bees; they could swim in the river; the dragon might want to play. “Trust me,” he tells Raccoon. “Nothing could go wrong on a little picnic.” That is, until Duck forgets the picnic basket. But Raccoon the worrier is ready for anything in Keiko Kasza’s warmly funny, finely paced picture book that never makes light of Raccoon’s anxieties. The fine friendship between Duck and Raccoon comes to full light in Kasza’s ebullient illustrations, which also extend the humor of her story. Highly Commended, 2010 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 3–7)

A warm, funny tale for little worriers

At first, Raccoon thought a picnic with his friend Duck sounded like fun, but he?s having second thoughts. After all, picnics can be very dangerous. They might get attacked by bees, or fall into the river, or even run into a giant, fire-breathing dragon who lives in a cave! Yes, a picnic is a very bad idea indeed.

Luckily, Duck knows that even though you can?t plan for the unexpected, there?s no reason to be afraid of it, because some surprises in life can be wonderful.