The Adventures of Grandmasaurus at the Supermarket

Grandmasaurus is back! Readers first met her in Adventures of Grandmasaurus and Adventures of Grandmasaurus at the Aquarium Rescue Centre. With her signature leopard-print scarf and perfectly arranged white hair, not to mention her secret ability to transform herself into a variety of prehistoric creatures, this time Grandma is chaperoning Ms. Prya’s class on an outing to the grocery store.

“Macaroni and cheese, everybody freeze!” Ms. Priya stopped
the class outside the supermarket. “This field trip makes me
hungry for knowledge. We are going behind-the-scenes
to learn about healthy food choices. Remember, your field trip reports
are due at the end of our visit!” she said.

“Please, Grandma,“ I begged as we walked through the doors.
“No fooling around on this field trip, OK?”

The young narrator and his friend Moonie soon find that healthy food is not the only thing on the menu here. When Grandma inhales “a green sparkle of supermarket dust”, she is transformed into a Parasaurolophus (a crested duckbill dinosaur) and immediately heads for the produce section. The boys ask if dinosaurs like lettuce, a question which gives their cheerful teacher an opportunity for a little lesson.

“Herbivores survive by eating plants. We might describe people
who only eat plants as vegetarian. Carnivores survive by eating meat.
Omnivores survive by eating both plants and meat!” Ms. Priya
announces. “That’s something to add to your reports.”

The reports have to wait as the two boys follow Grandma around and see her showing up as another herbivorous beast, a Supersaurus, and then at the bakery counter as an armored Talarurus.

“Grandma, stop! You can’t lick the cakes,” I whispered
in frustration.

The tank at the seafood counter is investigated by Grandmas as Spinosaurus, and a Woolly Mammoth Grandma is shown enjoying the chill of the freezer cases.

Time was running out. “We need to get Grandma back to
Grandma,“ Moonie said.

“Maybe we’ve really lost her this time,” I worried.

But over at the checkout, a hairy Deinocheirus hovers over a confused looking cashier before sneezing again and turning back into “a regular grandma”. Time for all the boys and girls to hand in those reports and head outside for a healthy snack.

As in the previous books, Ms. Priya, along with her students (who look to be in about Grade 4) and the other shoppers, seems oblivious to the drama happening around the store. Only the two boys seem concerned about the manifestation of Grandma as this wild variety of creatures.

Engaging if unsophisticated watercolour illustrations provide readers with lots of realistic detail about what is to be found on a well-stocked supermarket’s shelves. The multi-ethnic cast and the inclusion of one child in a wheelchair are a welcome sight. Grandma and the teacher are a friendly pair who seem to be setting themselves up for another field trip in the future.

The last page of The Adventures of Grandmasaurus at the Supermarket consists of drawings in silhouette of all the animals mentioned, with the syllables of their names helpfully separated, and a line about each one’s primary trait.