(2) K-3 It's 1931 (per a wall calendar in an illustration), and Shirley's family is struggling to get customers to try their store's speciality: "The neighbors don't know from good gefilte fish," declares Mama. Shirley has "LOTS of big ideas" but is deemed too young to help...until she's left temporarily in charge and gambles successfully on the power of free samples. Initiative-taker Shirley is easy to root for, and the engaging narrative voice ("Shirley wasted no time. She straightened. She decorated. She modernized. She advertised") keeps the tale moving. Loose-lined illustrations (pencil sketches over-drawn and then colored digitally) incorporate collage details that include what are presumably family photos; the author's bio explains that Cohen's grandparents owned a grocery store in a diverse immigrant neighborhood like Shirley's. Back matter includes a glossary for the occasional Yiddish terms, and background on and a recipe for gefilte fish. Try it; you'll like it!

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Deborah Hocking. Curly-haired Max eventually comes around to accept his conscription as Mom's errand-companion and shares his expertise in a how-to guide for potential supermarket-draftees. Digitally manipulated gouache and colored-pencil illustrations show stylized (and stylish) characters amid the store's abundance. Comic-book elements create gentle dramatic irony, but Max navigates the tedium in earnest, making realistically childlike attempts to manipulate a loving but savvy mother.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Brooklyn neighbors Moses (Moe) Feldman and Mohammad (Mo) Hassan meet while grocery shopping. One is Jewish and the other Muslim, but they look like twins and become great friends. Both text and illustrations mirror their similar experiences, emphasizing cultural and religious commonalities. Amini's multimedia collages combine photorealism, wild color combinations, and expressively stylized faces. Notes discuss Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan and include recipes for holiday treats.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam

(3) PS Apparently, hamster Stanley (Stanley's Garage, et al.) can't hold down a job--fortunately for the reader. He's been a mechanic, a mailman, and more; now he's running a grocery store, where his duties include giving mouse customer Myrtle and her many-carts-worth of cheese a ride home. Bee again offers a gently entertaining introduction to a profession, and his flat, chunky art looks good enough to eat.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 I Can Read Book series. Illustrated by Tim Bowers. In his easy-reader debuts, Rappy the rapping velociraptor averts multiple disasters on a trip to the supermarket and goes on a class field trip to a library. The books lack much of a story and rely on an inconsistent pseudo-rap rhyme scheme. Bowers's customary cartoonish illustrations showcase a wacky cast of Flintstones contemporaries and capture Rappy's exuberance. Review covers these I Can Read Book titles: Rappy Goes to the Library and Rappy Goes to the Supermarket.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(3) YA Readers are introduced to two seemingly discrete story lines: Kayla is desperate to escape poverty and a rough home life with her addict mother; Betsy is terrorized by threatening phone calls. In alternating chapters, each girl narrates her increasingly ominous story. Even if astute readers prematurely figure out the connection, they'll nevertheless enjoy the mounting suspense in this well-plotted mystery.

Reviewer: Norah Piehl

(3) PS When Roxy's mom takes her grocery shopping, the little rabbit is thrilled and tries her best to be helpful as they walk the aisles. But the situation quickly goes downhill, culminating in frosting-smeared faces and a tantrum. Paired with spot-on dialogue, the colored-pencil and pen illustrations are both expressive and humorous in capturing the split-second mood transformations toddlers experience.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(4) 4-6 Shy eleven-year-old Azalea spends the summer of 1952 in Arkansas helping her ailing grandmother. Chinese American Billy Wong moves to town to attend the integrated school and work at his relatives' grocery store. Azalea's conversational prose alternates with Billy's verse as their friendship blossoms. Weak characterization and some heavy-handedness hamper a well-intentioned story. An author's note on Chinese Americans in the South adds value.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) K-3 Translated by Laura Watkinson. Illustrated by Simona Mulazzani. This entertaining Italian import describes a supermarket with "only natural foods," where all the animals--from snails to elephants--come to buy their favorite provisions. "A three-for-two sale on crumbs? The birds twitter and the ants form a long line. What a bargain!" Imaginative, humorous touches draw the reader in: e.g., a mongoose steals eggs by hiding them under his ball cap.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Julia Patton. Peanut butter, jelly, and bread equal a great sandwich, but where do the components originate? The text takes readers back from markets to delivery trucks to bakeries and factories to farms to seeds, always returning to the same banal description of a grocery trip. Ample white space lets the retro illustrations shine; a final page shows the story's five kids ebulliently chowing down.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) 4-6 Afghan American Ariana, her recent-refugee cousin Laila, and her best friend Mariam (from Shooting Kabul) investigate acts of sabotage and vandalism on both Ariana's family's grocery store and on a new competing store opened by a rival family. The characters' deep love for their culture, described in rich, respectful detail by Senzai, is a distinguishing feature of the engaging California-set mystery. Reading list, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) 4-6 Translated by Laura Watkinson. In 1943 Manhattan, Linus is the delivery boy for his family's grocery store. One customer is an artist who takes the time to talk to Linus about color, design, and "the future"; in an appendix we discover that the artist is Piet Mondrian. The various elements don't entirely mesh, but this Dutch import presents a fresh and immediate portrait of its time and place.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2013

(4) PS Everyday Alphabet series. With upper- and lower-case letters, an alphabet page-header, and lots of crisp color photos, these books are attractive if slight. The highlighted items are random (shoes, nectarines, umbrella in Store; apples, easel, umbrella in Park), and boxed text provides the briefest amount of information, some obvious ("Eating vegetables keeps you healthy"), some repetitious ("Eating asparagus helps you stay healthy"). Ind. Review covers these Everyday Alphabet titles: ABCs at the Park and ABCs at the Store.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(3) PS Illustrated by Tim Bowers. While shopping in a grocery store, a girl meets a friendly dinosaur. What should she say? "Hello. I’m pleased to meet you." And if her cart bumps the dinosaur, how should she respond? "I’m sorry." The jaunty rhyme describing the silly situations requiring polite answers and the amusing acrylic illustrations keep the lessons lighthearted.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Henry Cole. The potty humor continues in this sequel to Chicken Butt! The protagonist acquiesces to Mom's warning: "No more 'Chicken Butt!' my dear..." However, he grabs the reins and takes off with such homophone hijinks as "Deer Butt" and "Witch Butt." The text (like the boy) sometimes gets ahead of itself, but Cole's exuberant cartoons enhance the silliness.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) PS Energetic rhymes accompanied by color photos inventory veggies at an indoor farmers' market: "Head for cabbage. / Greens for sale. / Fall for fennel, / Swiss chard, / kale!" The variety and arrangements of good-looking produce will get kids pointing to vegetables they see on trips to the market (next step: eating!). A brief appended note tells more about veggies.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Though Edwin's just a baby, he's the one who notices the car keys in his brother's shoe, his mother's purse on top of the car, etc. He tries to tell Mom--"Figbutton noo noo POCKY BOOKY froppin ROOF"--but all she hears is babbling. Blackall's delicately lined illustrations, in Chinese ink, watercolor, and gouache, feature a lively family of (elegantly garbed) ferrets.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2011

(4) K-3 Macaroni, no cheese; wet baby, no diapers; pancakes, no syrup: this is what happens in the Chicken household without a running grocery list. When things worsen, the family's pledge is renewed: use the list, help Mom with the shopping. The story presents a frustration more pertinent to adults than children. Bold black lines and bright blocks of color form appealing geometric illustrations.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Beingessner. Anna Maria enjoys working on Saturdays at her Nonna Rosa and Nonno Domenico's small corner grocery store. She helps display and price the produce, stocks the shelves, then shares treats from the shop with friends. Delicate, detailed illustrations show the store's layout and the grandparents' homey upstairs apartment.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Miriam Latimer. A father-daughter grocery run turns into an action-packed occasion when the daughter's "fantastic" sneeze sets off a chain of clumsy events. Amidst the canned-good chaos and finger pointing, Dad helps get things under control. The energetic rhyme is filled with onomatopoeia, exclamations, and clever wordplay that will delight read-aloud audiences. Colorful and lively acrylic illustrations include fun-to-find collage details.

Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi