Picnics are happy occasions and have always been a diversion from every day cares. We think of the picnic as an outdoor meal, set on a blanket, usually in the middle of the day, featuring a hamper filled with tasty morsels and perhaps a bottle of wine, but historically picnics came in many forms, served any time of the day. This first culinary history reveals rustic outdoor dining in its more familiar and unusual forms, the history of the word itself, the cultural context of picnics and who arranged them, and, most important, the gastronomic appeal. Drawing on various media and literature, painting, music, and even sculpture, Walter Levy provides an engaging and enlightening history of the picnic.

Includes more than one hundred easy-to-follow recipes for a variety of dishes, for all kinds of occasions, inspired by characters and events in "The Wind in the Willows."

Contains an annotated booklist of 1700 new children's books selected by the Committee on the Elementary School Booklist of the National Council of Teachers of English.

A world list of books in the English language.

Suggests twelve themes for activity programs, and offers subject bibliographies and advice on displays, publicity, and related activities.