During the lazy days of summer, when the kids were young and I was old wanting to be young, We did something. On the days when the sun was warm but not hot, the sky was a deep blue with a few white puffs, we pulled a red wagon down the sidewalk, between two houses and the and over the bride to the library. How light and easily the wagon moved. Even over the bumps. Goldie skipped. Her brother ran. We were there in 5 minutes. It was the nicest thing in the world to walk to the library.

I parked the wagon inside the entryway. I knew the wagon wheel hobble would interrupt library quiet. As soon as we found ourselves in the children’s section, the three feasted our eyes all around us. Then, we were busy. Goldie went one way , took off one book and flipped through the pages. “Hmph” she said sounding a bit like Goldielocks after trying Papa Bear’s porridge. She pulled off three more books and finally found one to start her stack. Her brother had found every book with a train, car, truck, or animal and had nearly 10 books in a neat stack.

I picked up every unwanted book and put them in the “to be shelved” box. Then, I carefully slid by fingers down the spine of some picture books. “You must not judge a book by its cover” whispered nearby. Maybe once a twice it was the book itself saying so.

It surely was true for Goldie and her brother. Or was it? Goldie had flipped through pages of her choices. She must have known. Her brother, at least looked at the first two pages. I was in a hurry. The kids had already built a mountain of books. I needed to yank a few off the shelf and be done.

I pulled the wagon home with all my might. A few bumps scooted books off the wagon and onto the sidewalk.

“That’s mine!” Goldie cried. “And mine!” said her brother.

“Hold onto them. Home is just 20 steps away.”

I parked our load under the one shady tree in our front yard. Then I spread out a blanket. Goldie and her brother made their pile of books on each aide of the blanket. I brought out popcorn and lollypops.

For the next 30 minutes under the shady tree, we were in three different worlds. I had found a book about a girl who planted a tree. My eyes left the pages for a minute and looked up at the one that shaded us. Goldie was crunching on popcorn and floating her fingers around the bright colored illustrations of Jack and the Beanstalk. Goldie’s brother with lollipop red tongue and lips, had made it through half his stack already. Probably had the words memorized with one read.

Soon, they both had a stack of books at their side again. Tall and straight with no wobbling books at the top. Goldie stood up stretched and began to twirl around. “Fee Fi Fo Fun!” She cried. How did she know? I wondered. “Vroom!” cried her brother as he began chasing after a robin. He actually outran him. Perhaps foreshadowing of future days for him. I had only took in a few pages of my story. But I could dream on those for awhile. We took our books inside for an inside book picnic. Maybe the next book picnic would happen on a rainy day. But I had hoped that I was teaching both Goldie and her brother, that any day is a perfect day for a Book picnic.