Book Review: Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Krosoczka, Jarrett J. 2009. LUNCH LADY AND THE CYBORG SUBSTITUTE. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 9780375846830

2.    PLOT SUMMARY

When one of the favorite teachers doesn’t show up to school one day, the Lunch Lady becomes suspicious of the new substitute. Betty and the Lunch Lady decide to spy on the substitute and figure out what is going on. During the same time, several students Dee, Hector and Terrance want to find out what the Lunch Lady does after school so they decide to spy on her. After school, the lunch lady and follows the substitute home and finds out that he isn’t an ordinary substitute. He’s a cyborg substitute! Will the Lunch Lady and students be able to get away in enough time or will the robots take over? 

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this graphic novel we meet a super heroin, the Lunch Lady. She is a wonderful character that you wouldn’t expect to be a super hero, which makes this a hilarious story. Between the Lunch Lady’s getaway car, a vespa, and her secret lunch tray laptop all of the details used throughout the novel are laugh out loud. I loved Krozoczka’s creative use of café items, my favorite was the chicken nugget bombs! The Lunch Lady is extremely nosy and loves adventure and you can see that from the beginning. The story takes place in the school where the Lunch Lady works and this is a setting that kids can really relate to. The Lunch Lady immediately decides that there is something up with the new substitute and the journey begins from there. The novel takes us from all of her spying tactics to her finally following him home and discovering that she was right. 

Krosoczka did a wonderful job with the graphics, they were detailed and easy to follow. I liked how he only used three colors throughout the entire story, it gave the story more a of a comic book feel than a normal book. I enjoyed how Krosoczka varied the format throughout the story by using only pictures on some pages and including dialogue on others. This change up is a great way to reel in young readers and not overwhelm them with too much text. I think that students of all ages would love this book and even students who love comics. This is a wonderful book that keeps you guessing and begs you to read the entire series. It’s silly, fun and mysterious all at the same time!

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

WINNER 2010 Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices

WINNER IRA Children's Choices

BOOKLIST: 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 maker’s 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 Lady’s epithets of “Cauliflower!” and Betty’s 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.

5. CONNECTIONS

*There is a teacher’s guide for lesson ideas and activities on Random Houses website: http://www.randomhouse.com/book/95917/lunch-lady-and-the-cyborg-substitute-by-jarrett-j-krosoczka#reader%27sguide

*Check out the book trailer: http://www.randomhouse.com/book/95917/lunch-lady-and-the-cyborg-substitute-by-jarrett-j-krosoczka#relatedvideos

*For more Lunch Lady Books check out these:

Krosoczka, Jarrett J. LUNCH LADY AND THE LEAGUE OF LIBRARIANS. ISBN: 9780375846847

Krosoczka, Jarrett J. LUNCH LADY AND THE AUTHOR VISIT VENDETTA. ISBN: 9780375860942

Krosoczka, Jarret J. LUNCH LADY AND THE SUMMER CAMP SHAKEDOWN. ISBN: 9780375860959