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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J 381.148 KRU | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A new look at a familiar place that tells how it operates.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-Lively text and dynamic gouache paintings provide an aisle-by-aisle overview of this distinctly American invention, discussing the history of supermarkets, how they are organized, customer shopping habits, and assorted food facts. Well-stocked with amusing touches, this accessible picture book also conveys the store's role as family destination and community stopping place. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Food for Thought Kathleen Krull's matter-of-fact text anchors each spread of Supermarket, while information implanted in Melanie Hope Greenberg's compositions adds substance. For example, an opening spread says, "It all begins on farms," while a U.S. map painted on the side of the "Happy Farms" barn says, "Certain states are famous for certain foods: Iowa for popcorn, Vermont for maple syrup"; a billboard planted in the field notes the contributions of labor organizer Csar Chavez. ( Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
This description of what goes on in a supermarket is frequently interrupted by asides and random facts about food production. The prose is choppy and sometimes of dubious accuracy, while the scattered-focus illustrations, though colorful and attractive in a naive folk-art way, are ultimately too general to add any useful visual information to the text. From HORN BOOK Spring 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A behind-the-shelves look at the inner workings of supermarkets offers readers an in-depth examination of how the myriad foodstuffs come to be available in the grocery store. From the laborers in the fields and delivery trucks racing across town, to an overview of each section of a modern grocery store, readers observe the many steps required to provide the ultimate conveniences. Krull skillfully distills a huge morass of information into palatable, bite-size morsels of information. However, the text lacks definite linear progression. Rather, it has a tendency to jump back and forth among the topics. She moves from describing the farms that produce our staples into a discussion on the economic development of early communities and then on to a description of the food pyramid-all fundamentally interconnected, but presented in a dizzying whirl of information. Greenberg's meticulously detailed illustrations are like grocery stores themselves: a kaleidoscope of sights and colors. Included in the pictures are intriguing tidbits of trivia: how potato chip companies know when to send product out, favorite ice cream flavors, etc. The end result is a tremendous amount of information, both visual and textual, for readers to assimilate. Yet after wading through it all, readers-both young and old-will never look at a supermarket with such innocent complacency as before. A fascinating peek into an amazingly complex industry that is virtually taken for granted by most of us. (Nonfiction. 4-8)
Booklist Review
Ages 5-8. "If you lined up all the boxes of macaroni and cheese sold each year, the line would stretch from Los Angeles to New York and back again--more than 9 times." This is just one of the interesting tidbits found in this behind-the-scenes look at the neighborhood supermarket. The main text briefly relates the story of how food gets from farm to shelf. After that, it's a hodgepodge of information that many youngsters will find interesting. Additional text is placed within the gouache illustrations: for example, information on states famous for producing a particular food appears inside an outline map of the U.S. that is located on the side of a farm building. The artwork, filled to the brim with colorful products and active people, features a wonderful variety of signs that will encourage kids to practice reading and math; it can also be used to introduce the concept of advertising. Schools near a supermarket can extend this with a walking field trip. --Lauren Peterson
