A Picnic in the Rain

A Picnic in the Rain, by Corinne Delporte, is an adorable “reversal” story featuring the Snail family who are on their way to their first picnic of the year. The weather starts off great that day with a beautiful downpour of rain. They quickly get their picnic food and water toys ready and head outside. But, as luck would have it, as soon as they unfold their picnic blanket, the rain stops, and the sun comes out. Can this picnic be saved, or is it ruined?

The good news is that the picnic is saved when young snail, Margot, finds another opportunity to seize the day. This story teaches its young readers that, although sometimes things may not go according to plan, there is always a sliver of hope or an opportunity to look for. A Picnic in the Rain contains a beautiful message, one that may have readers seeing a rainy day a bit more differently.

At the end of the story, there is a page that shares some facts about snails. This page serves as a great bridge for children who may be interested in learning more about snails after reading the story.

The illustrations are well done with a style that is appealing to both younger children and adults and which features a vibrant colour palette, with lots of primary colours. The lush greens, red and yellows just make the illustrations captivating. The characters are also quite cute and friendly looking. A Picnic in the Rain would be a great story to share for a storytime.