“Guardian of the Groceries” by Michael Albanese

Guardian of the Groceries

Michael Albanese
The Weight of Ink (2020)
ISBN 9781732898714
Reviewed by Zack (age 7) for Reader Views Kids (1/21)

“Guardian of the Groceries” by Michael Albanese is a book about a boy named Henry who was bored. When his mom told him that she had an adventure for them, it was to the grocery store – what? The grocery store isn’t an adventure! That’s what Henry thought too, but he found out that his mom was right. When Henry’s mom told him to guard the grocery cart he went on an exciting adventure protecting his groceries from the Cereal Monster, the Cheesyclops, and the Broccolisaurus!

I really liked how the grocery store manager gave Henry a helmet and helped him protect the Marketsphere. It was awesome the way the grocery cart turned into a spaceship. The store manager told Henry about the bad guy monsters trying to steal the groceries and Henry battled with all the monsters one by one. My favorite was the Cereal Monster who was like a robot but all his parts were cereal boxes instead of metal. Henry had a great way of defeating each of the monsters but I can’t tell you more, you have to read it yourself. I can tell you that Henry doesn’t think the grocery store is boring anymore.

I also liked the pictures because they were colorful and showed me what Henry was imagining. I will probably imagine the same thing the next time I go to the grocery store with my mom. I think boys will like this book more than girls.

A Note from Mom: “Guardian of the Groceries” is a sci-fi picture book for early readers just starting to read and those not quite ready to move up to chapter books. The storing is engaging and kept Zack entertained on every page. I like how it encourages kids to use their imaginations with whatever they are doing. Using the example of a trip to the grocery store was perfect. I could see this being a great series overcoming mundane everyday activities using just a spark of your imagination. Great story for kids!