Max explains everything: Grocery store expert by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Deborah Hocking

Max is an expert on visiting the grocery store, because his mom makes him go all the time! Max, a mischievous little boy with rosy cheeks and curly dark hair, has lots of tips for having fun at the store if you can’t talk your parents out of going. First, find the perfect cart. Then, even if your mom has planned the route, there’s lots to do; juggling with fruit, going fishing, tasting samples, and choosing the best (i.e. sugary) cereal. Max has lots of tips for sneaking in cookies, dog food (“it’s just one step closer to getting one.”) cake, kitty food, or maybe just a candy bar.

The colors are bright and cheerful and Max, even while he’s driving everyone insane, is adorable. The store looks like an upscale grocery store with lots of choices of fresh food and fish, towering aisles of cereal, and most customers carrying shopping bags, rather than carts. Milo’s mother has endless patience with his shenanigans, even when he keeps whining for treats and sneaking things into the cart.

Verdict: This is funny and the art attractive, but it’s probably not going to appeal to parents who are trying to teach their children not to beg, whine, or sneak things into the cart in the store or who have to juggle multiple children and a tight budget when shopping. Best-suited for older kids who can be suitably superior about not partaking in Max’s bad behavior and parents with a strong sense of humor. The first in a series, I’m interested in seeing what adventure Max has next.

ISBN: 9781101996447; Published 2018 by G. P. Putnam/Penguin; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library