Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians

Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett J. Krosoczka is the second of the Lunch Lady graphic novels. In this one, the Lunch Lady and her faithful assistant Betty believe something is up with the librarians' morning meetings. What are they plotting?

I read this book at the start of my last semester in library school. Here are librarians driven over the edge by budget cuts and other cutbacks. They've taken all they can and now it's time for revenge. Librarians don't really plot revenge at their meetings — but if they did, they'd have to go up against the Lunch Lady!

It's a short and silly read. If the school lunch crew can be super heros, why can't librarians be super villains? — with magical powers, no less!

There's evil afoot, and Lunch Lady is there with her trusty hair-netted sidekick Betty to thwart it. Whether its a league of librarians who plan to intercept all the new video game consoles coming in fresh off he boat, or the mild-mannered teacher who created a robot army to replace the other teachers so he can become Teacher of the Year, Lunch Lady and her never-ending arsenal of modified food service devices will be there to save the day.

These graphic novels aimed at the emerging reader has just enough story to keep them moving along and plenty of action to retain the attention of the fussiest readers, but little else. They have a look and feel reminiscent of the the Babymouse series, though they lack that series more rounded show more characters. The trio of kids - the Breakfast Bunch - are convenient shells for explaining story elements and become useful only when they fall into danger. Lunch Lady (and Betty) should be the focus and we should know more about what makes them tick.

Similarly, this series also makes a play for the Captain Underpants crowd with the wackiness of superheros but are neither as clever in their humor or as gross as they could be. We are talking about cafeteria food here, a prime area for exploration, and it feels little like an opportunity lost that crime if fought only with the utensils. Also, superheroes have backstories that explain and infuse character. Captain Underpants himself is funny because of how he becomes who he is, but with Lunch Lady the reader is supposed to accept her antics simply by virtue of lunch ladies being somewhat off.

I appreciate the idea of producing more long-form comics for this age group but I feel that with kids a certain standard has to be met. I'm not suggesting that the stories can't be fun and frivolous, but that they be delivered with the same expectations that would fall to a work of fiction aimed at the same level. What makes Captain Underpants work with readers isn't that it has underpants in the title, it's that the characters are distinctly drawn, the text is clever and funny, and the story would be almost as funny without illustrations. There's a whole load of possibility in the concept of a superhero Lunch Lady but it's all lost on just-in-time gadgets and one-dimensional characters.

I found that the moment I closed the book I had forgotten most of its story. The same thing happened on rereading them. There is so little to latch onto that they are as immediately forgotten as the empty calories of a celery stalk.

To steal from Douglas Adams: relatively harmless. show less

I needed to read a graphic novel for a Bingo challenge at our local library and I chose this one -- it was a fun read!
In this story the local librarians have formed the League of Librarians and that turns out to be a bad thing. So the Lunch Lady and a few kids from the school must come to the rescue. All very exciting! I can see how Grades 3-5 would eat this up :)

Welcome the new superheros--- Lunch Lady-- serving justice AND lunch-- this time she is fighting the evil librarians who are trying to rid the library of video games--AAAARRRGGGH!!! A new graphic for the elementary set-- clean lines and simple, humorous drawings with unsaturated light color create a lighter, simpler juvenile graphic than Secret Science Alliance-- while several of the themes remain the same-- set in a school with friends who must solve a mystery only they can see--in the end, the kids- and the Lunch Lady--overcome! The spare and uncluttered pages will appeal to both younger students as well as reluctant readers. And, of course, Lunch Ladies and Librarians.

Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians is a graphic novel that is fun to read. Children would like this book because it takes something like school, which most children find boring, and turns it in to something full of adventure. The lunch lady is a superhero who has to save video games from the evil librarians. I felt the story itself was a little strange, because it almost seemed like it was making reading a bad thing and seemed to promote video games. I think this book would appeal most to young boys around ages 8 and up, because I think any children younger than 8 might get confused by the layout of a graphic novel.

The lunch lady's back and facing another dastardly villain... This time, a league of librarians has pledged to rid the world of video games... but not if Lunch Lady can help it! Another quick, funny read that's perfect for the elementary school crowd.

The illustration and voice are enjoyable, but the plot is based on nonsensical misinformation. The librarians are evil? The principal wants to give the lunch lady the school librarian position? This is a great title that requires tremendous suspension of disbelief.