Woodson’s We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past (1997) is a joyous family gathering with mounds to eat. It’s a story about an African American family reunion picnic in an urban park. The narrator, a young girl, comes with her Grandma, who has worked frying chicken and baking biscuits all morning. The other eighteen picnickers come with some share of food so that when they get to it, there’s probably enough for another twenty picnickers.
The happy table is packed end-to-end with sweet corn, cinnamon bread, cranberry muffins, sweet potato pie, peach cobbler, yams, potato salad, green salad, a big old ham, cornbread, chocolate layer, and homemade ice cream. To everyone’s relief, Cousin Martha brings a store-bought cake, a gastronomic joy because she’s a very poor baker.
Featured Image: Diane Greenseid. “Then Mr. Pete came running.”
See Jaqueline Woodson. We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past (New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1997