Bing and Chutney are best friends. After breakfast, Chutney decides it is the perfect day for a picnic. And the perfect place to go is Moosonee - by streetcar, of course.
Bing agrees that this is a wonderful idea and immediately sets about creating a feast. Macaroni salad, chocolate chip cookies, and apples are all loaded into an enormous picnic basket, which is then topped off perfectly by Bing's grandmother's red checkered blanket.
Bing and Chutney see the streetcar off in the distance and wait patiently. However, when it comes no closer, Chutney decides to investigate. The driver is fast asleep! They carefully move him to a seat and Chutney settles down behind the wheel.
Along the route they encounter several of their friends. Cow, Giraffe, Zebra, Kangaroo, and Rooster all join the outing. Up hills and down valleys they travel, until just before Moosonee an accident occurs: the picnic basket falls under the wheels of the streetcar. But the friends pull together and soon the picnic is saved. The day is a great success.
Praise for Bing and Chutney
"The point is not the pace, but the results. Friends support friends in this blithe fantasy with its strong message."
(Kirkus Reviews, October, 1999)
"Theirs is an enviably happy life, its sweet domesticity captured by von Königslöw's endearing watercolors."
(Globe and Mail, October, 1999)
"What comes through in the energetic, quirky illustrations is how much fun life can be."
(City Parent, September, 2000)
