School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Harriet, the cook at Lincoln School, is feeling tired and unappreciated. None of the children enjoy the healthy lunches she exhausts herself preparing and now, "she needed a vacation bad!" After she departs for a tropical paradise, Principal Fitz hires a series of substitutes, including a hash slinger who provides greasy food complete with flies, a French chef whose rich dishes (all flamb?) make the children fat, and a witch who creates cupcakes that bite back. Various teachers attempt to run the kitchen with equally disastrous results. The children write to Harriet imploring her to return, but their pleas fall on deaf ears until the principal sends a telegram stating that the children are no longer healthy. Harriet returns, and from that lunch on, "they all ate healthy foods for the rest of their long and happy lives." The plot is mildly amusing, although the joke wears thin rather quickly. The illustrations, done in indelible ink and Luma Dyes, are bright and cheerful and amplify the silliness of the situation. Kathryn Lasky's Lunch Bunnies (Little, Brown, 1996) addresses the cafeteria scenario with humor and less chaos. An additional purchase for larger collections.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.