Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss. ( )

The genre is contemporary realistic fiction. The story is about a girl and her grandma who put on their nightgowns on a Sunday night, open the newspaper to see what's for sale, and turn on their imaginations. They imagine all the things they are "buying", and clip and tape these treasures on their wall. The reading strategy I would use with this book is 'Determining Importance' which would give students an opportunity to decide what are important details and which are not as important. There are many details in this book for students to sort through and would also be a good text for summarizing/paraphrasing. One activity I would love to do with this book is have students cut clippings out of newspapers and magazines themselves and paste them on a poster they would pretend is their "shopping cart". Students would title their items and describe them, teaching them vocabulary and writing skills.

After reading this sweet book, you are left with a smile on your face and a little bit of sadness in your heart. Its uniqueness comes from the imaginative storyline and the lovely prose that carries throughout the book. The reader can't help but be touched by the special relationship between grandmother and granddaughter, and also by the fact that they don't let their poverty (assumed in the story) weigh them down. The illustrations are very creative and are a wonderful accompaniment. A teacher/librarian could use it to introduce creative writing. An art teacher would find it very useful in the study of different types of art expression. ( )

Every Sunday night, a little girl named Evie and her Grandma go on a weekly “shopping spree.” They settle down on Grandma’s bed, open the newspaper advertisement section, and take turns ‘buying” whatever they want with colorful pretend money. Before long, they spend all their funds, so they pretend that in the coming week, a famous movie star will come to their building and hand out bags full of more money. And then they can go “shopping” again!

Shadra Strickland’s colorful mixed-media collages both add to the fun and to the sense of a warm and playful grandmother-granddaughter relationship.

In addition, no doubt many families reading this book will come up with their own plans to have some entertaining evenings fueled by their imaginations. Such an activity will also help kids learn about money, making change, and wisely shopping for value, just as it does for little Evie. ( )