Lunch!

November 9, 2015
Comics creators including Cece Bell, Jeffrey Brown, Nathan Hale, and Cecil Castellucci and Sara Varon let loose on lunchtime in this second Comics Squad outing. In Bell’s standout story, Ellie’s reliance on her same-every-day lunch collides with her crush on a classmate—and what looks like a burgeoning nut allergy. Jason Shiga reprises the multiple-choice format of Meanwhile in a time-travel mystery that will require careful attention from readers. A new Peanuts comic featuring Snoopy as a lunchroom monitor is sadly forgettable, and Nathan Hale, in an offshoot of his Hazardous Tales series, merges the lunch theme with a real-life WWII tale, the difficulty of which he seems to acknowledge (“Throwing potatoes is silly. Hundreds of sailors going to a watery grave, well... that’s not so silly”). Bullies, archaeology, science experiments, and dodgeball combine in a collection that puts less of an emphasis on comedy than its predecessor. Ages 7–10.

November 15, 2015
The Comics Squad moves from Recess! (2014) to an even more popular theme with a fresh set of minicomics created by a (mostly) fresh slate of artists. Most of the eight entries at least start in the lunchroom: the Holms' Babymouse and friends defend their accustomed table (unsuccessfully) against rivals in a dodgeball duel; Cece Bell's "Crazy Little Thing Called Lunch" features a boy-dazzled picky eater whose courage is goosed by a hallucinatory episode; Krosoczka dishes up a Lunch Lady origin story with "Lunch Girl" battling a bully. Further afield, Nathan Hale retells a true World War II battle tale involving a Japanese submarine and hurled potatoes, and Jeffrey Brown follows a pair of adolescent Neanderthals gathering ingredients for "Cave Soup." A multistranded detective tale by Jason Shiga is hard to digest, as it is presented in many small, out-of-order panels linked by arrows and so requires much flipping back and forth. But the real bomb comes from "Peanuts Worldwide LLC" (the actual creators are named only in the closing author notes). Reading like a clumsy sendup, it features Snoopy creating lunchroom chaos with a mop while making silent comments like "The Head Beagle values cleanliness... / but won't cross the unions!" One can imagine what Charles Schulz would say. One rotten apple aside, a second helping of tasty treats. (Graphic anthology. 7-12)

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February 1, 2016

Gr 2-5-Once again a veritable who's who of children's cartoonists assemble to offer up a collection of short comics around a theme. This second anthology presents stories that share the common thread of lunch, although the context in each tale varies a great deal, from the gross to the unexpected, the historic, and even the prehistoric. Familiar characters such as Jarrett Krosoczka's Lunch Lady, Jennifer and Matt Holm's Babymouse, and even Peanuts' Snoopy appear in original stories that will satisfy fans of the referenced source material. Jeffrey Brown's "Cave Soup" kicks off a new comics series from the creator of "Jedi Academy" that blends humor and historical evidence into a story about a Neanderthal family. Class rivals find common ground over scientific lunchroom experiments in Cecil Castellucci and Sara Varon's "Worst Day Ever." Two particularly strong stories are Nathan Hale's "Lunch Bomb 1943" and Jason Shiga's "The Case of the Missing Science Project." The former recounts a historical event from World War II, in which the crew on a U.S. destroyer successfully defended themselves and the ship from a Japanese submarine by attacking the sub with a barrage of raw potatoes. Shiga takes the "Choose Your Own Adventure"-style comic storytelling that earned him praise in Meanwhile (Abrams, 2010) and adds the element of time travel in "Missing Science Project." The unfamiliar mechanics of Shiga's comic may baffle some, but the payoff is unlike anything this reader has experienced in a story prior. VERDICT Overall, this anthology offers up a lot of strong selections with tons of appeal.-Matthew C. Winner, Ducketts Lane Elementary School, Elkridge, MD

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2015
Grades 2-5 Jennifer Holm, Matthew Holm, and Jarrett J. Krosoczka have rallied a heaping serving of comics greats for this collection of minicomics about lunchtime. Cece Bell kicks off the volume with a funny story about a little girl whose nut allergy might lead to true love. Fan-favorite Babymouse channels Robin Hood in a battle over a table in the lunchroom, but will her love of cupcakes ruin her scheme? Nathan Hale recruits characters from his acclaimed Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series to recount the true story of WWII sailors who fought off a Japanese sub with potatoes. Jason Shiga offers a choose-your-own-adventure time-travel mystery in an ingenious format. The other entries are just as entertaining, and the cheery yellow palette coloring each artist's signature style makes for a welcoming through line. With so many familiar names, it will be a piece of cake to get this collection into little hands, and while they are perusing their favorites, they might find some new ones.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)