A Picnic in October

A Picnic in October by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
Appropriate for readers in grades 1-4

Do you ever think about how your family came to live in this country? Are you new to the United States? Do you know anyone else who is? Many of our families come from different parts of the world, and some of them immigrated here through Ellis Island in New York. But why is the Statue of Liberty such a big deal anyway? Tony, the main character of A Picnic in October, wonders the same thing when his family visits Lady Liberty herself. Let's read his story to find out what he discovers.

In Eve Bunting's contemporary realistic fiction picture book A Picnic in October, young Tony and his Italian-American family make their yearly trip to the Statue of Liberty's island for a "birthday picnic" despite the fact that Tony thinks "It's dumb!" to have a picnic so late in October. While waiting in line for the ferry, Tony is confronted by a worried non-English-speaking immigrant who is afraid that her family has missed their ferry ride, but Tony uses arm gestures to assure her that the ferry will come back. Once on the island, Tony and his family play together and eat their picnic. His grandmother blows out the candles on the birthday cake, but when the family suddenly turns to Lady Liberty to toast her, we realize that it's not Tony's grandmother's birthday after all, but the Statue's! However, while everyone else is blowing kisses, singing songs, and reciting poems to the Statue of Liberty, Tony "sincerely hope[s] no one is watching." He doesn't understand why the Statue is such a big deal to his family... until he witnesses something that may help him come to realize what the Statue of Liberty means to new Americans.

In this truly endearing story, Bunting uses sensory details to draw the reader into the moment, from the man whose "loose white pants ... flap in the wind" to the ginger ale that's "so cold it burns [Tony's] throat." Furthermore, Nancy Carpenter's softly blurred illustrations contribute subtle tenderness to the mood while their bold colors give a sense of near-winter chill as they linger in the cool end of the color spectrum, accentuating blues, greens, and purples. Carpenter also makes skillful use of perspective; in one illustration taking up two full pages we see the ferry looking relatively small in the corner and an impossibly enormous shadow of the Statue of Liberty's crown and torch breaching the otherwise endless-feeling expanse of water. It simultaneously inspires a sense of awe and an anticipatory urge to cross the remaining distance between the ferry and the unseen island. On another page we are looking down from a vantage point near the top of the statue so that Lady Liberty's immensity looms predominantly over the scene as she appears to be watching over the tiny picnicking family on the ground. Another thing I appreciate about this story is that it speaks of American liberty without sounding preachy, and it is in some way relevant to any classroom or family.

The usefulness of this text lies significantly in its pertinence and relatability. This text feels very relevant for classrooms today, especially when one considers that more and more students in any given school come from families of recent immigrants or have themselves immigrated here. Furthermore, since the story is told from the perspective of a boy who is two generations removed from immigration and possibly thinks of himself simply as an “American,” even “typical” American students will see the relevance of the story and realize that they, too, have a unique cultural heritage that quite possibly involved Ellis Island. This book is perfect for discussing immigration and can reveal the idea that, in a sense, almost everyone is an immigrant. Reading this book would be a great way to introduce a project investigating students’ family trees, or if teachers/schools acknowledge the quasi-holiday commemorating the “birthday” (dedication) of the Statue of Liberty, this is an obvious choice for a read aloud. It would also be an appropriate and culturally-sensitive addition to a unit on citizenship and patriotism because it cherishes liberty in its most agreeable sense without getting politically controversial or formulaically maudlin. It could lead to really powerful discussions about why people immigrate and how beautifully diverse America is. If read to older children, this book could even be used to spark a tangential discussion of the Twin Towers because they are depicted in one of the illustrations; it could be a means of determining when the book was written and if its message has changed or remains strong in light of 9/11. But beyond all these technical merits of literary craftsmanship and artistic skill, the books is also simply a joy to experience; it would be a wonderful addition to any classroom library.

Connections to the MA ELA Curriculum Frameworks could include the Language strand's General Standards 1: Discussion and 2: Questioning, Listening, & Contributing, as well as the Reading and Literature strand's General Standards 8: Understanding a Text, 9: Making Connections, 10: Genre, 11: Theme, and 15: Style and Language.