Tommy at the Grocery Store

Grossman's rhythmic poem recounts, with silly word play and wacky humor, the wry tale of a piglet named Tommy, whose mother inadvertently leaves him at the grocery store. The grocer decides that Tommy must be salami and sets him on the deli shelf, where he is purchased by a housewife. Just about to slice him, she shouts, ``Oh, my goodness! Gracious! Dear! / My salami! It has eyes!'' Convinced Tommy is a potato, the housewife returns him to the grocery store where he is purchased by a doctor who discovers Tommy's neck and thinks him a bottle. And so it goes, with puns about ears of corn, legs of tables, feet of rulers and skins of bananas until Tommy is safely returned to his mother. Chess's ( Tales for the Perfect Child ) clever watercolors are detailed (a magazine rack displays Penhouse and Hogue ) and as droll as the story. This delightful tale of mistaken identity is sure to provoke giggles. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)