Bibliography
Krosoczka, Jarrett J. LUNCH LADY AND THE LEAGUE OF LIBRARIANS. New York: Random House, 2009. ISBN 978-0-375-84684-7.
Plot Summary
The librarians are hiding something from the school. Three inquisitive students set out to uncover the mystery, but have to enlist the help of the Lunch Lady and her partner to solve the crime and rid the streets of the evil League of Librarians.
Critical Analysis
The story, itself, is very funny. It is written for children, but can be appreciated by any age. Krozoczka inserts funny lines for the lunch ladies that fit their job and their personalities like “Things are getting applesaucy” and “Great Tuna!” When the ultimate showdown between the two teams occurs, the librarians power is the unleash characters from various books upon the lunch ladies. This includes Black Beauty and the Lion from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. These touches make the book humorous. The lunch ladies retaliate with hairnet nets and banana boomerangs. The author knows his audience wants a story they can understand and find humor in quickly and he does an excellent job of delivering on both parts.
It is so obvious Krozoczka has a deep passion for comics and graphic novels. His illustrations are beautifully done, but provide the humor needed to accompany his story. While only using shades of black, white and yellow throughout the book, nothing is lacking and it feels like a fully colored book. He includes tiny details like the computer keyboard “click” in the background of the illustrations. It shows the level of detail he put into making this book. I think my favorite illustrations were of the characters the League of Librarians unleashed. The wolf from The Three Little Pigs and all the characters from Alice in Wonderland made a funny and well drawn climax to the story. The greatly done illustrations paired with a funny story make this a fun read for many ages.
Review Excerpts
“When not serving up French fries and gravy to students, Lunch Lady escapes to her secret kitchen lair to lead the life of a crime fighter. Using an assortment of lunch-themed gadgets (created by her sidekick Betty), she is definitely a quirky superhero. Tipped off by the Breakfast Bunch (three students who discovered Lunch Lady's crime-fighting alter ego in Book 1), she attempts to foil the plans of the evil League of Librarians, who seek to destroy all video games. The black-and-white pen-and-ink illustrations have splashes of yellow in nearly every panel. The clean layout, featuring lots of open space, is well suited for the intended audience. Terrence, Hector, and Dee become more developed in this second installment in the series, especially Dee, who asserts herself as the strong-willed leader of the group. 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.” – School Library Journal
Connections
Read other books in Krozoczka’s Lunch Lady series: Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown, Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta, and Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit.
Have students write their own comics of adults with their own superpowers. What kind of superhero props would their math teacher have? What about the principal? Their parents? Their grandparents?
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