A Picnic in October

Based on the 1999 picture book written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, this iconographic animated short follows Tony and his parents on the bus to Battery Park to meet up with other members of their Italian-American extended family. While Tony doesn't see the point of the group's annual picnic trek to Liberty Island to celebrate the October 28th “birthday” of New York City's oldest, tallest, most-copper-and-steel-supplemented lady, his grandmother--who adoringly remembers her first sight of the monument upon arriving from the “old country”--insists that the family show respect by visiting the Statue of Liberty. En route, Tony helps a foreign couple and their child with directions on using the ferry--although he can't comprehend the woman's language, he gestures until she understands--and when he later sees the trio in front of Lady Liberty, he is moved by their quiet reverence. A myriad of details--from Grandpa's sappy compliments and licorice whips, to ferry views of various NY landmarks, to the fake fur collar on Grandma's coat--add to the charm of this solid story of patriotic family pride. Recommended. [Note: two other adaptations based on picture books by Eve Bunting are also newly available: A Day's Work and The Memory String.] Aud: K, E, P. (J. Williams-Wood)