Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Krosoczka, Jarrett J. 2010. Lunch Lady and the bake sale bandit. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780375867293

PLOT SUMMARY

The Lunch Lady and the Breakfast Bunch work together to solve the mystery of the who stole all the bake sale goodies.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Lunch Lady may seem like any other beloved school cafeteria worker, but she’s so much more. Her relationship with students makes her quickly loveable (unlike other stories of crabby cafeteria ladies). Lunch Lady’s co-worker and sidekick Betty is the genius behind many of Lunch Lady’s gadgets.  The Breakfast Bunch--Dee, Hector, and Terrence--are just typical students with a knack for solving puzzling events. They work hand-in-hand with Lunch Lady to find answers to the mysteries of school. Lunch Lady may love them, but Orson, the rule following, conniving Safety Patrol Officer, thinks differently of them.

In this episode of the Lunch Lady mysteries, the Breakfast Bunch must figure out who is responsible for swiping all the field trip bake sale goodies. With all the grouchy adults infiltrating the school, the culprit could be anyone! In their quest to gather clues, the trio faces other conflicts like detention and kidnapping. Lunch Lady’s creative gadgets and Betty’s quick wits allow a speedy resolution and the quick take-down of the villain: Brenda, the bus kid-hating driver and her evil tricked-out bus. The rapid action holds readers attention until the very end.

The standard school setting (principals roaming the halls, grumpy teachers, bitter custodians, and annoying hallway patrollers) makes readers believe the story will be a normal story about daily occurrences. However, the zany Lunch Lady quickly throws out that idea and replaces it with bizarre incidents that require unnatural gizmos and schemes to settle basic good versus evil themes.

With the accompaniment of yellow, black, and white illustrations, this quick-moving graphic novel encourages readers to think outside the comic strip box. Who would have thought the sweet, loveable Lunch Lady would be the heroine?! How does Betty think up all those quirky contraptions? The author even includes some hints about the next mystery by showing the silhouette of a previously shown villain at the end of the book. (Dun, dun, dun…)

REVIEWS

“The clever and inventive Lunch Lady along with her protégés, elementary-school students Dee, Hector, and Terrence, take on the titular bad guy in another satisfying episode of schoolwide politics, derring-do, and a bit of appealing fantasy, culminating in the attack of the villain’s supercharged Buszilla. A know-it-all fellow student, a crusading health teacher, and a maniacal bus driver are among Krosoczka’s funny and over-the-top red herrings. The high action of the yellow-washed, black-and-white cartoon panels is echoed in the narrative’s pacing. The end clearly sets up the gang’s next adventure.”

--Booklist, February 2011

CONNECTIONS

Related Books

Pilkey, Dav. 2008. Captain Underpants and the invasion of the incredibly naughty cafeteria ladies from outer space (and the subsequent assault of the equally evil lunchroom zombie nerds). New York: The Blue Sky Press. ISBN 9780545073028

Story Elements

Use this text to learn the basic story elements such as conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution. Use the Plot Structure Graphic Organizer found at http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson223/plot_mountain.pdf

Create Your Own Comic

Use an online source such as http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/ to create your own action-packed comic with a conflict, fantastic abilities, and a satisfying ending (all the parts of the story elements study).