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| Artwork by Jarrett J. Krosoczka Image from www.studiojjk.com |
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute
by Jarrett J. Kroscoczka
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Krosoczka, Jarrett J. 2009. LUNCH LADY AND THE CYBORG
SUBSTITUTE. Ill. by the author. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780375946837
PLOT SUMMARY
When Mr. O’Connell, the beloved math teacher, is mysteriously
absent one day, the Lunch Lady starts to investigate the odd substitute teacher
who has come to take his place. After finding a disc with robot blueprints in
his briefcase, she decides to follow him after school. Little does she know,
however, that she is being followed, as well. Hector, Dee and Terrance, three
students also known as the Breakfast Bunch, are curious to know what the Lunch
Lady does, “You know, when she’s not a lunch lady?” Soon, everyone ends up in
an abandoned building, and discover the truth behind the weird substitute and
Lunch Lady’s unique persona. It turns out that the substitute is a robot sent to the school by
Mr. Edison, the science teacher. His plan was to replace all the popular
teachers with mean cyborg subs that would assign too much work, thus baiting
the students to vote for him as Teacher of the Year. But his plan is foiled by
the crime-fighting Lunch Lady and her collection of spiffy gadgets – chicken nugget
bombs, fish stick nun chucks, and a spatu-copter that helps all of them escape.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Krosczka’s Lunch Lady brings readers a seemingly ordinary,
yet wonderfully animated character to life. Like any superhero, Lady Lady comes
complete with a trusty side-kick and gadget creator, Betty, and their secret lair
dubbed the Boiler Room. The straightforward, albeit predictable story line, is perfect for
young readers who enjoy super heroes and stories of good versus evil.
The simple gray scale ink drawings with pops of yellow
digital coloring make this graphic novel very appealing and kid-friendly. The
comic strips vary from simple multi-box panels to full-page, visually inviting
drawings. Children will be intrigued and fascinated by Lunch Lady’s arsenal of
gadgets, including a lunch tray laptop, a spork-phone, and rubber glove suction
cups. Even adults will not help but smile at the puns and exclamations of, “Good
gravy!” The first in a series of graphic novels, Lunch Lady and the Cyborg
Substitute, is a wonderful introduction to a clever and courageous
crime-fighter, with hints of future adventures and a faculty of interesting
characters.
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute is recommended for
children ages 7 to 12, and is available in Spanish.
REVIEW EXCERPTS and AWARDS
“This tongue-in-cheek superheroine graphic novel will hit
the spot for chapter-book readers.” -Booklist,
March 2009
“Filled with goofy puns and grayscale art with cheery yellow
accents, this is a delightfully fun escapist read.” - Kirkus Reviews, June 2009
“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.’” -Publisher’s Weekly, July 2009
“With only a few words per page, this cute graphic novel
would make an excellent read-aloud.” -Library Media Connection, October 2009.
- Kid's Indie Next List – Autumn 2009
- Children's Choice Book Award - 2010
- Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices - 2010
Introduce the Lunch Lady series to students with this book
trailer.
Invite students to speculate and write about other school
employees (the gym teacher, the school secretary, the janitor, etc.) and what kind
of superhero weapons they would give them.
Use these worksheets for a complete Author Study of Jarret
J. Krosoczka.
From Random House publishing, use this Teacher’s Guide to GraphicNovels.
Read the entire Lunch Lady series!
#2 Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians, 2009
#3 Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta, 2009
#4 Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown, 2010
#5 Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit, 2010
#6 Lunch Lady and the Field Trip Fiasco, 2011
#7 Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes, 2012
#8 Lunch Lady and the Picture Day Peril, 2012
#9 Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villain, 2013 (April)
Other graphic novel series for children.
--Baby Mouse by Jennifer and Matthew Holm
--Stone Rabbit by Eric Craddock
--Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
--Kit Feeny by Michael Townsend
--Magic Pickle by Scott Morse
Other books by Jarret J. Krosoczka
--Good Night, Monkey Boy, 2001
--Baghead, 2002
--Bubble Bath Pirates!, 2003
--Annie Was Warned, 2003
--Max for President, 2004
--Punk Farm, 2005
--Giddy Up, Cowgirl, 2006
--My Buddy, Slug, 2006
--Punk Farm on Tour, 2007
--Ollie the Purple Elephant, 2011
Visit the author/illustrator’s website.
Follow the author on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BooksbyJJK
Twitter: https://twitter.com/studiojjk
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