It is at breakfast one warm summer day that Florentine suggests a picnic to Pig, and begins dreaming up a menu. Pig likes the idea very much, until Florentine points out there will be no Apple and Carrot Muffins because Pig has eaten the last apple—which is why Pig is soon clambering among the very highest branches of the apple tree to pick the last three perfect apples. Author Eva Katzler, who worked with children in summer camps, realized that kids had forgotten (or had never known) the simple joys of getting a little messy with their hands. Her response was to create Florentine and Pig—adventurers, chefs, and friends—and to include lots of sloshing and mashing (and some crashing and dancing) in a picture book with recipes and crafts for readers 5 to 8. Jess Mikhail provides the expressive cartoon-and-collage illustrations, crafted with plenty of pretty fabric swatches.