Tommy at the Grocery Store [Hardcover]

Bill Grossman (Author), Victoria Chess (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1989 | Age Level: 3 and up

Tommy is mistaken for items in a grocery store until his mother comes to the rescue.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Grossman's rhythmic poem recounts, with silly word play and wacky humor, the wry tale of a piglet named Tommy, whose mother inadvertently leaves him at the grocery store. The grocer decides that Tommy must be salami and sets him on the deli shelf, where he is purchased by a housewife. Just about to slice him, she shouts, "Oh, my goodness! Gracious! Dear! / My salami! It has eyes!" Convinced Tommy is a potato, the housewife returns him to the grocery store where he is purchased by a doctor who discovers Tommy's neck and thinks him a bottle. And so it goes, with puns about ears of corn, legs of tables, feet of rulers and skins of bananas until Tommy is safely returned to his mother. Chess's ( Tales for the Perfect Child ) clever watercolors are detailed (a magazine rack displays Penhouse and Hogue ) and as droll as the story. This delightful tale of mistaken identity is sure to provoke giggles. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-- Tommy's a porker in a pickle. Separated from his mother while grocery shopping, he's mistaken for salami by the grocer, and then presumed to be meat, a potato, a banana, and various other edibles and inedibles before he is retrieved by his loving mother. Told in rhyme easy enough for beginning readers, with enough verve and wit to be read aloud, Tommy's eventful shopping trip is pure delight. Chess' droll illustrations of the grocery store interiors with colorful boxes, baskets, tins, and jars, all featuring a dumbfounded little pig as he is peered at by miopic adults, create a visual feast. There's not much food for thought here--just good, clean fun. --Trev Jones, "School Library Journal"
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books; 1st edition (June 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060224088
• ISBN-13: 978-0060224080
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,198,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-buy, November 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Tommy At The Grocery Store (Paperback)

This is one of the very best children's books I have found. It was recommended by a book store after I asked for rhyming books for my then 3 year old. 3 years later we are STILL reading it, have read it to all his school classes, recommended it to friends, and it's a big favourite.
Great for vocabulary-building, funny, and wonderful illustrations.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a hilarious book, very fun to read, wonderful rhymes, April 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Tommy At The Grocery Store (Paperback)

This is one of the best children's books I have ever read. My 4 1/2 year old and I laughed out loud reading it. It is lots of fun to read with alliterative rhymes and cute pictures as well as a very funny story. This is a great children's book!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite kids book!, November 2, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Kansas City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tommy At The Grocery Store (Paperback)

This is my favorite of all the kids books I've read. I love it for the content, the rhyme, the rhythm... and the darling ending. Both of my kids loved this one, and requested it over and over. Some kids books are not so fun to read aloud (e.g. Dr. Seuss' ABC or even the popular Good Night Moon), but I enjoyed reading this one, and even today can recite it by memory. A must have in any child's library!!!