Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Krosoczka, Jarrett. 2009. LUNCH LADY AND THE LEAGUE OF LIBRARIANS. Ill. by Jarrett Krosoczka. New York, NY: Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc. ISBN 9780375846847

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

This graphic novel tells the story of three students and two lunch ladies who work to thwart the evil plans of the League of Librarians. The students are excited about the upcoming read-a-thon, but are also looking forward to the release of the newest video game. The librarians feel the video games are evil and hatch a plan to destroy all video games and video game consoles. When the students and lunch ladies hear of this plan, they work together to stop the destruction of all video games. Although the librarians have powerful weapons in ferocious book characters, the lunch ladies use their lunch gadgets to fight back. In the end, the librarians are arrested, the video games are saved, and the read-a-thon is a success. The lunch ladies even implement a "read while you wait your turn" policy for all students wanting to play video games in the library (Krosoczka, 2009).

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Krosoczka creates believable characters in the students, librarians, and lunch ladies. It is easy for readers to identify with these characters because they are familiar faces all children interact with at school. Clever naming strategies for the characters contribute to the humor and wit of the book. For example, the league of librarians consists of several committee members, including "Vivian Bookwormer" and "Jane Shelver" (Krosoczka, 2009). Student and adult readers alike are likely to chuckle at these references.

The action packed plot keeps the reader engaged and excited.  Early on in the book, Krosoczka reveals to the reader the secret plot the librarians are planning to execute. "Step one: Destroy all video games" is the first step in the librarians' plan to eliminate video games (Krosoczka, 2009). The plot thickens as the students attempt to involve the lunch ladies in their investigation of the suspicious librarians. The lunch ladies ask the students, "are you trying to blow our cover?" (Krosoczka, 2009). The fantasy nature of this graphic novel is further defined by the students' quest to solve the mystery of the League of Librarians. "We'll gather more evidence […] This could be more dangerous than the last mission" (Krosoczka, 2009). Readers will be excited to venture on this journey with the students as they attempt to save the day by defeating the evil librarians. Finally, the plot is logical and sequential due to Krosoczka's use of transitional phrases to show the passing of time. Phrases such as "after school," "after lunch," or "later" help to signal to the reader the natural progression of the plot (Krosoczka, 2009).

Although Krosoczka creates a fantasy plot in this graphic novel, he emphasizes reality by setting the novel at a school. Students will enjoy reading about a typical school building with the ideas of world dominance, secret powers, and magical gadgets in the mix. Young readers will be very familiar with the locations mentioned in the book such as the library, book fair, and cafeteria, making this an enjoyable book with which students will readily identify.

A theme in this book is the importance and value of reading. Although it is evident that the boys and girls at the school enjoy technology and video games, it is also apparent that reading is another popular pastime. For example, Dee shares her opinion when she mentions to Hector, "everyone's life doesn't revolve around electronics" (Krosoczka, 2009). Dee expresses her excitement for reading when she pledges to "win this Read-a-thon!" (Krosoczka, 2009). Further support of reading is seen in the illustration of the book fair. The reader sees a library full of eager students browsing books for purchase. Students even try to connect their love of video games to reading. "I'm going to see if they have any books on video games" (Krosoczka, 2009). Krosoczka makes it very clear that even though students enjoy technology, reading is still of high importance.

Krosoczka's style is characterized by a significant use of witty humor. Funny scenes give the book a light-hearted feel. For example, the lunch ladies' experimentation with night vision goggles is likely to garner a laugh or two. "It makes everything look like a taco!" the lunch lady exclaims (Krosoczka, 2009). Krosoczka's use of the graphic novel style of writing allows him to incorporate sensory details through the use of onomatopoeias. "FWOMP," "BLEEP, BLEEP," and "RUMBLE" are just a few of the words that allow the reader to experience the sounds of the school. The use of onomatopoeias also contributes to the action packed plot Krosoczka uses to create an engaging storyline. Finally, the use of full page illustrations with supplemental text offers a break in the pattern of the multiple boxes of text found on most pages. These full page scenes emphasize key points in the plot and require the reader to pause momentarily before continuing on in the story. For example, a towering librarian fills the page as she shouts, "The library is CLOSED!" (Krosoczka, 2009).

Krosoczka's use of black, white, and yellow sketches are consistent with that of most graphic novels. However, rather than using harsh features found in the traditional graphic novel, Krosoczka employs more child-friendly illustrations with cartoon like features and rounded edges. Light and dark contrast helps to convey the evil plot of the librarians. As the lunch ladies review their secret footage, the room is black and dark revealing the secret nature of their undercover job. Movement is evident throughout the illustrations by the use of arrows, lines, and exaggerated gestures. For example, as the lunch ladies enter their secret area in the boiler room, the reader sees a hand turning a combination lock. An arrow and the word "click" show that the lunch ladies were able to successfully enter their secret chamber (Krosoczka, 2009). Overall, the action-packed illustrations help create an engaging graphic novel that is likely to hold its readers captive until the last page.

4. PERSONAL RESPONSE: STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

I really enjoyed the subtle humor in this book. I found myself entertained by the clever use of library terms such as "Vivian Bookwormer" and "media specialist" (Krosoczka, 2009). However, I felt the book was slightly confusing. I understood that the librarians wanted to eliminate video games, but I was never quite sure why they were so unwelcoming and rude to the students throughout the novel. It seems as though they would have wanted to make the library an inviting place, especially if they were trying to destroy all video games. One other fault was the lack of page numbers. The omission of this access point made the citation of specific examples in the book challenging.

5. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

"With its appealing mix of action and humor, this clever, entertaining addition to the series should have wide appeal." (SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL)

"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." (HORN BOOK)

6. CONNECTIONS

*Students could read another book in the LUNCH LADY series such as LUNCH LADY AND THE CYBORG SUBSTITUTE (ISBN 0375846832).

*Students could write a persuasive letter to the librarians convincing them to abort their plan to destroy all video games.

*A read-a-thon (like the one in the book) could be held in the school library. Video games, computer games, or board games could be played. Of course students would participate in reading as they waited for a turn on one of the games.