Guardian of the Groceries

Guardian of the Groceries

Henry gets bored sometimes. I mean, we all do. One day, when his mother takes him the grocery store (the most boring place on earth!), Henry decides to use his imagination. And what happens next is the most incredible adventure he's ever been on! Join Henry on this unexpected journey and you, too, might just be surprised by what you find! "It's okay to be bored sometimes. That's the perfect time to use your imagination." - Henry's Mom" WINNER! "Guardian of the Groceries" won the "Reader Views 2020-2021 Literary Awards" Silver Award! Thank you @readerviews for the opportunity and for such a wonderful honor. We hope more children will be able to engage their imaginations (especially when they are bored) through reading! "Loved it! This is a fun and lighthearted story about how a little imagination can turn an everyday outing into an exciting adventure. The grocery store turns into an amazing adventure with just a little bit of imagination. One day, a boy named Henry finds himself sitting on the front steps of his house--looking out at an otherwise beautiful day--and feeling bored. He craves adventure, but when his mom suggests that a trip to the grocery store might help, Henry is not so sure it will be the adventure he is looking for. However, inside the store, Henry's mom asks him to guard the groceries while she tracks down a forgotten shopping list item. It is then that Henry's adventure as the Guardian of the Groceries truly begins. Cheery, child-like illustrations greet the reader from the first page, foreshadowing moments within the story ahead. Bright colors are used throughout, and the images feature visible line work in various hues. Henry and his mother are depicted with light skin and shop at an upper-middle-class grocery store; the shopkeeper/mission control is depicted with darker skin. Readers will enjoy the friendly faces on each page and the welcoming message of using one's imagination to turn boredom into adventure, no matter where one finds oneself. The chosen font is playful, and the balance of text to images is well-suited to young, elementary school-aged readers. Though many of the sentences are long, familiar word choice makes the story accessible to a wider range of ages. Several puns and references appear within Henry's adventure that will be appreciated by the caregivers reading this book aloud. After experiencing Henry's story, readers will no doubt be inspired to create adventures of their own and may even wish to recreate some of Henry's imaginings in their own grocery stores. A fun and lighthearted story about how a little imagination can turn an everyday outing into an exciting adventure, Guardian of the Groceries is an enjoyable book that may even encourage young readers to eat their broccoli." - Reedsy, January 2021 Guardian of the Groceries , a picture book written by Michael Albanese and illustrated by Laura Kirkland, follows young Henry to the grocery store. He's bored and wants an adventure which seems to preclude his more mundane itinerary, until his clever mother informs him that "Anything can be an adventure if you just use your imagination." After that, Henry discovers a world of possibilities in this simple chore, attaching his dreams to reality when he's charged with 'guarding the groceries' as his mother shops another aisle. This duty produces marvels when a colander helmet sends him into the world of the Marketsphere, where he faces the dreaded Cereal Monster. Whimsy is unbridled during the course of the adventure in which Henry battles a "grainy giant" capable of hurling boxes of cereal "like cardboard rockets." Parents who choose Guardian of the Groceries for its read-aloud action value will find events compelling and fun as Henry faces notjust one but a series of intruding grocery monsters and challenging missions,such as confrontation with the dreaded Broccolisaurus. Food and nutrition insights are carefully woven into this story in a manner designed to both entertain and educate. Laura Kirkland's very simple drawings could have been produced by a young person, and will appeal to youngsters who love drawing and who dream of becoming an illustrator. This action-packed, imaginative food exploration hold sappeal on many different levels. -- D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review "Guardianof the Groceries is valuable because it reminds readers that with a little bitof imagination, anything can be fun--even a trip to the store. Full of humorthat is emphasized by the bright, comic book-like illustrations, Guardian ofthe Groceries celebrates the power of imaginative play and its ability to turnthe ordinary into the extraordinary. It's a fun story for bored young readerseverywhere." - The Children's Book Review, January 4, 2021 "An appealingly comic approach to helping kids transform life's mundane moments."A little boy learns the power of his imagination in this picture book.Freckled, red-haired Henry doesn't agree when his mom tells