Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians

goodreads.com














Krosoczka, Jarrett J. Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians. 2009. New York: Alfred A. Knopf  Books for Young Readers. ISBN-13 9780375846847

The Lunch Lady graphic novel series is about an ordinary lunch lady with extraordinary crime fighting skills and interesting devices. She uses spork phones, lunch-tray laptops, and many more unique tools to defeat villains at the Thompson Brook School. In this particular volume, the villains are librarians who want children to read books instead of playing video games. 

Readers can identify with the lunch lady and the desire to take out villains and bullies. Readers will care about what happens to her and will want her to defeat the villains each time and return unharmed to the school cafeteria. The plot is not completely believable, but children will still love the idea of the lunch lady battling the librarians. The plot is original and will the keep the reader's attention the entire time. 

The setting is in a school and very important to the story. Readers can compare the cafeteria of Thompson Brook School to being similar to their own school cafeteria. The theme of good being more powerful than evil is very apparent and very satisfying in the end. The clear and consistent point of view encourages the reader to believe that it is possible for a lunch lady to have these crime-fighting abilities. The lunch lady and her sidekick, Betty, use the boiler room to try out their nifty crime-fighting tools. One tool Betty introduces to the lunch lady is 'Taco-vision Night Goggles'. "They fit right over your glasses. Splat! Oops! That was just a regular taco. Sorry about that. Here's a towel." This scene is hilarious and children will be rolling with laughter throughout the entire story with scenes similar to this.

The entire Lunch Lady series is a great series for children and even adults. This is perfect for reluctant readers or those who just want something different to read. Each graphic novel is entertaining and a quick read. I love this series and will continue to recommend it to everyone.

The Lunch Lady series has been a two-time Children's Choice Book Award winner  and a Will Eisner Comic Industry Award nominee.

If you enjoy this volume in the Lunch Lady series, you may also enjoy Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villain, Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, and Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit.

Hornbook Guide to Children
"This tongue-in-cheek graphic novel series, illustrated in bold black-and-white with vibrant highlighter-yellow accents, is a strong choice for superhero-spoof fans."

School Library Journal
"The winking references to book fairs, read-a-thon enrollment, and media specialists fit well with the story line. With its appealing mix of action and humor, this clever, entertaining addition to the series should have wide appeal."

Further activities for the Lunch Lady series can be found at:
http://www.lunchladycomics.com/index2.html

http://www.randomhousekids.com/brand/lunch-lady/

http://www.studiojjk.com/activities3-6.html