I learned this week (October 12th - 16th) is National School Lunch Week to help students learn about the importance of eating healthy and being active. This would also be a good time to remember the people that make it all happen, like the Lunch Ladies and cafeteria staff.

The media seem to portray them as ladle-wielding, hair-net-wearing, mystery-meat-slinging scary men and women. But here are a couple of books that are challenging those stereotypes.

Lunch Lady by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Krosoczka’s Lunch Lady character “doesn’t only serve sloppy joes - she serves justice!” Lunch Lady is a secret agent that fights evil at the school. Lunch Lady’s secret base is located behind the refrigerator down in the school’s boiler room, where her sidekick Betty creates amazing gadgets to thwart evil villains like the Cyborg Substitute. How could you not love secret gadgets like a Spatu-copter, Fish Stick Nunchucks, a Lunch Tray Laptop, or a Spork Phone?!?!?

This comic book (graphic novel) series is illustrated with a variety of panel sizes that creates an engaging pace for the story. It is illustrated in black, white, and yellow (to match the Lunch Lady’s gloves of course!) So read the Lunch Lady series to follow her adventures as she is “Serving justice! And serving lunch!”

Cafeteria Lady From the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler

Like all of the other Black Lagoon books, a new staff member starts at the elementary school. In this book, it doesn’t help that the new Cafeteria Lady’s name is Wanda Belch. When the students hear this their imaginations start running wild, wondering what she may be like. Does she really drive a garbage truck to school? Is “Soufflé of Science Experiments” her favorite dish to serve? Does she actually use organic rats in her ratatouille?

In the end the students realize the Cafeteria Lady is nothing like they imagined and that lunch was so good they went back for more. This picture book is filled with cafeteria-spoofed jokes and the colorfully detailed illustrations that add another funny dimension to the already hilarious text.

For the rest of this National School Lunch Week, let’s appreciate and recognize the ladies and gentlemen that keep our children fed during the school day. They are part of our school's learning community too! Thank you Lunch Ladies and Lunch Gents!!!

book photos: lunchladybooks.com and amazon.com