The Fantastic 5 and 10 cent Store by J. Patrick Lewis

Lewis, J. Patrick.  The Fantastic 5 and 10 cent Store.   Illustrated by Valorie Fisher.  Schwartz & Wade Books, 2010.  $17.99.  PICTURE BOOK.  Content: G.  When a shop shows up in town all the townsfolk try to guess what is inside it.  Finally Benny explains that it is a five and dime store and goes in to check it out.  When he enters he finds all sorts of crazy things happening, such as a race between a teacup and saucer.  The store proprietors complain that they haven’t had business for a long while, so Benny helps them decorate the front of the store and soon enough the towns people are coming there to shop.   The book is fun because of the picture puzzles in the text and the illustrations are detailed and entertaining.  The storyline is a bit confusing and it took 2-3 readings to understand what it was really about.  It was also confusing how the store popped up in town and nobody knew what it was, but the store owners claimed nobody had been there for decades. EL – OPTIONAL. Reviewer, C. Peterson, teacher.