Jarret J. Krosoczka’s Lunch Lady graphic novels always open with the Lunch Lady stopping a crime in progress. In this eighth book in the series, she unhands a pair of thieves with her spatula and a karate kick.
What follows is the main story—which, in this case, revolves around a rough photographer. She has found a way to give students a faceful of pimples right after she takes their school photo. She can then make money by charging them an extra fee to have their pictures airbrushed to perfection.
The Lunch Lady is onto her, though. Together she and Betty, her co-worker in the school cafeteria, uncover the scheme and apprehend the criminal, who by the end of the story has traveled to Paris.
Krosoczka uses the cafeteria to inspire a slew of new phrases and expressions (Oh, my goulash; Soggy cereal, what is going on?) Equipped with modified kitchen gadgets like the Fancy Ketchup Packet Laser and the Mustard Grappling Hook, the Lunch Lady can detain anyone.
The superhero spirit is strong at Thompson Brook School. The Breakfast Brunch crew, Dee, Hector, and Terrence, always find a way to help the Lunch Lady solve a crime. When they find out the photographer has their student council fund, they too travel to Paris to get the money back for their school.
The black-and-white illustrations, which appear in panels, contain only one color: variations of rubber-glove yellow. Boys and girls who crave humorous, witty stories will enjoy this series.
Tanya Boudreau/2012 for curled up with a good kid's book