Little Red Riding Hood, three bears, a troll, a giant, a witch - all pay a visit to the little boy's picnic. Maybe a picnic can be fun after all.

In June of 1939, the United States played host to two very special guests. British monarchs King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were coming to America. As it was the first visit ever by reigning British royalty, it was a chance for America to build a stronger relationship with the British, especially in those challenging times. On the domestic side, many people didn't have jobs, housing, or food. Internationally, Adolf Hitler, Germany's leader, was threatening the countries around him and war loomed on the horizon. But First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt saw the visit as an opportunity for America to set aside its cares for a while and extend a warm welcome and hand of friendship to the royal guests. As part of the festivities, Eleanor hosts an all-American picnic that includes hot dogs, a menu item that shocks some people.

In this witty spoof of fairy tales, Christian, a commoner, falls for Princess Marigold, and it's up to him to untwist an odd love triangle and foil a scheming queen who wants to take over the kingdom.

It is 1959. The class of 4A at Rose Horn's convent school in Dublin has discovered boys. And dating. And kissing. Rose dreams of love. And of exchanging her thick lisle stockings and bulky school uniform for the daring black chiffon numbers of Hollywood stars. When her mother discovers Rose's secret trysts with Frank Fennelly, she banishes her to spend summer in the depths of Kerry - far from temptation, she believes.But beneath the peaceful exterior of Fenit village, with its close community and simple pleasures, lurks a wild place of social undercurrents. Here Rose meets heart-throb Mikey Daw, and she is drawn into the adult world of broken promises, hidden secrets and bitter tragedy.

What prompts children to tell stories? What does the word "story" mean to a child at two or five years of age? The Folkstories of Children, first published in 1981, features nearly five hundred stories that were volunteered by fifty children between the ages of two and ten and transcribed word for word. The stories are organized chronologically by the age of the teller, revealing the progression of verbal competence and the gradual emergence of staging and plot organization. Many stories told by two-year-olds, for example, have only beginnings with no middle or end; the "narrative" is held together by rhyme or alliteration. After the age of three or four, the same children tell stories that feature a central character and a narrative arc. The stories also exhibit each child's growing awareness and management of his or her environment and life concerns. Some children see their stories as dialogues between teller and audience, others as monologues expressing concerns about fate and the forces of good and evil. Brian Sutton-Smith discusses the possible origins of the stories themselves: folktales, parent and teacher reading, media, required writing of stories in school, dreams, and play. The notes to each chapter draw on this context as well as folktale analysis and child development theory to consider why and how the stories take their particular forms. The Folkstories of Children provides valuable evidence and insight into the ways children actively and inventively engage language as they grow.

When Boy and Girl go out for a picnic, they meet Sheep, Pig, and Duck and invite them along, but the group loses several things before they can sit down to eat.

It was a perfect day for a picnic. Hen picked the berries, Goose picked the apples, and Duck picked the pears. Then they set out for the picnic. But young viewers will quickly discover that Hen, Goose, and Duck are not the only ones who like berries, apples, and pears! And as the picnic basket gets lighter and lighter, they will be laughing harder and harder. Since the publication of Rosie's Walk in 1968, Pat Hutchins's name has been a household word wherever there are young lookers and listeners.