Tripping Over the Lunch Lady: and Other School Stories
Grade 5-7–This amusing anthology of 10 short stories, by authors such as Avi, Angela Johnson, David Lubar, and Rachel Vail, will resonate with students everywhere. Sarah Weeks's "Experts, Incorporated," explores how a name can lead to horrific nicknames, like that of the protagonist: Curtain, Rod. Readers will cringe at their own inadequacies, sympathize with the embarrassment of the characters, groan at the familiar odor of "fish sticks in the lunchroom," and cheer when the shame of being in "Special Reading" results in self-awareness and new friends. James Proimos's "The Grade School Zone" is a comic-strip story of a boy's Italian grandmother who fractures the English language. Lee Wardlaw's "The Desk" centers on the mystery and magic arising from the seat of an itinerant circus student, and David Rice's "Tied to Zelda" describes a crush on a friend in school. A skillfully written and engaging collection that's sure to be popular.–Rebecca Sheridan, Easttown Library & Information Center, Berwyn, PACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.