Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute

(Lunch Lady 1)

by
Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Knopf, July 2009, 96 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-375-84683-0

Genre: Early Chapter
Subgenres: Graphic Novel / Humor
Reviewed: 12/2/2009

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Graphic Novel Page

Lunch Lady Page

 

Synopsis

Who is the Lunch Lady? That is the questions that elementary students Hector, Terrence, and Dee are asking themselves. They are the Breakfast Bunch, always eating their breakfast at school before school starts. They wonder what the two lunch ladies, Lunch Lady and Betty, do when they aren't at work.

One day, the kid's favorite teacher, Mr. O'Connell, does not show up at school and they have a new substitute named Mr. Pasteur. Mr. Pasteur gives the students a lot of work to do and always has a keen eye on them. The kids don't like him very much. The science teacher, Mr. Edison, is now the most popular since Mr. O'Connell is out. Lunch Lady is instantly suspicious of Mr. Pasteur because Mr. O' Connell has not missed a day of school in twenty years.

Lunch Lady and Betty go down the secret passageway to the Boiler Room where they have all of their high-tech equipment, like Batman and Robin in their Batcave. As Lunch Lady follows Mr. Pasteur home one day, Hector, Terrence, and Dee hop on their bikes and chase after Lunch Lady, who rides a moped. Meanwhile, in the Boiler Room, Betty has finally finished analyzing one of Mr. Pasteur's hairs and discovers that he is a cyborg, part robot and part human.

Just as the Lunch Lady is about to confront the cyborg, the three kids get captured by even more cyborgs. Will Lurch Lady be able to stop all the cyborgs and rescue Hector, Terrence, and Dee without the kids getting hurt?

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute is the first book in the Lunch Lady series and is written and drawn by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. This humorous book is a graphic novel about a lunch lady at an elementary school fighting crime. This book is intended for girls ages 7 to 10.

 

Review

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute is a fun book for early chapter readers. After all, no one really knows what a Lunch Lady does when she gets off work. They are kind of a mystery. I have worked at different schools for many years and even I don't know what they do after work. Could they all be superheroes fighting crime in their off hours? Sure, why not?

Jarrett J. Krosoczka has created three highly likable characters in Hector, Terrence, and Dee, otherwise known as the Breakfast Bunch. Lunch Lady and Betty are funny and young readers will really like them. I'll bet that after reading this book, students will keep a closer eye on the lunch ladies in their schools.

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute is a great first book in a series that will have early chapter readers coming back for a second serving. I'm sure that in future books, Lunch Lady will be rolling out justice with a spatula in her hand and spaghetti in her hair. With Betty by her side, nothing can stop these two lunch ladies from keeping their school well-fed and crime-free.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.

This site was created and is maintained by Conan Tigard
2009