Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute

July 13, 2009
In this campy graphic novel series debut, Krosoczka (Punk Farm
) introduces Lunch Lady, a scrappy, permed crime fighter with rolled-up sleeves, yellow dishwashing gloves and an apron. Down in the school's boiler room, she and her older sidekick, Betty, test gadgets (like a handheld spatula-helicopter and a banana boomerang) and keep an eye on things. Three children—Hector, Dee and Terrence—speculate about Lunch Lady's after-school life and follow her when she jumps on her moped, in hot pursuit of a suspicious substitute teacher. Krosoczka's plot is somewhat thin: the title and cover illustration announce the trouble with the sub; the only mysteries are the mastermind and motive behind the sub's deployment. Yet Krosoczka crafts Lunch Lady as a tough, capable heroine who deploys such exclamations as “Nutritious!” and bon mots like “Should I serve up some whaaamburgers and cries?” when on a robot-destroying tear. With plenty of silliness and slapstick in the text and panel art alike, this comic should alleviate lunch-line boredom with visions of servers wielding fishstick-nunchucks and growling, “Today's special is a knuckle sandwich.” Also available: Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians
. Ages 7–10.

March 1, 2009
Grades 2-4 This tongue-in-cheek superheroine graphic novel will hit the spot for chapter-book readers. Lunch Lady and Betty, her assistant in both the cafeteria and her role of wrong-righting supersleuth, investigate the strange case of an absent teacher, his creepy substitute, and a plan to grab the Teacher of the Year Award by truly foul means. Three little kids join in the action as Lunch Lady, equipped with a variety of high-tech kitchen gadgets like a spatu-copter and a lunch-tray laptop, tracks a cleverly disguised robot to his makers lab, where a whole army of cyborgs require kicking, stomping, and the wielding of fish-stick nunchucks. Yellow-highlighted pen-and-ink cartoons are as energetic and smile-provoking as Lunch Ladys epithets of Cauliflower! and Bettys ultimate weapon, the hairnet. There is a nice twist in the surprise ending, and the kids ability to stand up to the school bully shows off their newfound confidence in a credible manner. Little details invite and reward repeat readings with visual as well as verbal punning.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)