Thursday, April 27, 2017

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute


BIBLIOGRAPHY
Krosoczka, Jarret J. 2009.  Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute.  New York:  Knopf Books for Young Readers. ISBN  978037594683-7

PLOT SUMMARY
Suspicious when Mr. O’Connell is absent for the first time in twenty years, Lunch Lady begins investigating Mr. Pasteur, the new substitute. While she is testing a sample of his hair, Dee, Terrence, and Hector are bogged down with all the work Mr. Pasteur has been assigning. They also start wondering about the Lunch Lady’s life outside of school and decide to follow her. As the Lunch Lady finally solves the mystery of the strange sub, the kids stumble upon the heroism of their lunch lady.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Krosoczka created another action-filled adventure that readers of all ages can enjoy. He adds elements of suspense and humor throughout the novel. Keeping with the cafeteria inspired spy tools, Betty makes a spatu-copter and later, when fighting the robots, she uses fish stick nun-chucks. At the end of the story, Betty creates an electronic Bananarang. The lunch humor is an added bonus, when Lunch Lady is inquiring about Mr. O’Connell’s absence and the custodian announces it might be due to her Shepherd’s Pie.  She quickly tells him to “can it.”

Each novel incorporates a big fight scene. In this book, the odds are stacked against her as she fights a horde of cyborgs. This series also portrays the kids as heroes in their own right. They always have a pivotal role in solving the conflict. In this book, Hector was the hero, using his science project to help defeat the cyborgs.

The illustrations fit in with the rest of the series, incorporating muted tones of yellow, gray, and white. He uses bold black lines around the illustrations and text bubbles, making the text easy to follow. While the illustrations are not overly detailed, they adequately support the text and help create a visual of the main plot events.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
*Starred review in Booklist:  “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.” Grades 2-4. --Francisca Goldsmith
*Student Review: “I love how Lunch Lady’s spy weapons! This story made me wonder about some of the substitutes at our school.” Gavin S. 4th grade

CONNECTIONS
*Invite students to create their own graphic novel and share with the class.
*Invite students to read other books by Jarrett Krosoczka:
2010. Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown. ISBN 978-0375860959
2009. Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians. ISBN 978-0375846847

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