At the Supermarket

At the Supermarket

Shows the activities at a grocery store over one twenty-four-hour period, and describes the jobs of each department Grade 3-5-The cover photo, taken at night in a lighted but deserted parking lot, sets the stage for Hautzig's description of a 24-hour cycle at a supermarket. The full day, broken into a dozen unequal time intervals, shows store employees determining the need for additional produce; arranging seafood displays; and preparing cuts of meat, salad-bar selections, and baked goods. Hautzig emphasizes the limited shelf life of dairy products and fish, and indicates that outdated bakery products as well as three-day-old produce are given to food banks to feed the homeless. Extreme closeups, medium or long shots, all in full color (many with a distinct yellow-orange cast) and often in combination, appear on every page. The book clearly points out that the behind-the-scenes activities equal or exceed those that are apparent to shoppers. Teachers of primary age children can "talk the text" using the photographs to mark points of interest as a preview to a field trip, while intermediate students can trace the path of food from supermarket to consumer for themselves. Nancy E. Curran, Decatur Public Schools, IL Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. Ages 3-7. How a big supermarket works during a 24-hour time period is the subject of this lively photo-essay. Pictures in full color and a brief, informative text show what happens, hour by hour, in each section of a big store in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as people deliver goods, unpack them, store them, prepare them, put them out on the shelves, replenish them, and reorder more. Hautzig shows both the detail (a woman cuts up produce for the salad bar; hamburger meat pours out of the meat grinder) and the overall organization (a section manager punches up his order on the company computer). One of the best sequences begins with the delivery of fresh milk and eggs before the store opens; then on the opposite page, we see a customer taking milk off the shelf and putting it in her shopping cart, while at the same time a worker is refilling the shelves from behind the giant refrigerator. Not all the pages are as well designed, but clutter and clashing color, crowds and slogans, are part of the story. The cover picture of the supermarket lit up in the dark hours before daylight suggests the sense of mystery behind the neon lights. Kids will enjoy finding out about the hidden, busy activity that gets those cans and packages onto the orderly shelves. Hazel Rochman Used Book in Good Condition