With their wonderful lunch-lady, Harriet, away on a tropical vacation, the school begins to hire new chefs to take her place, but when one culinary disaster after another takes place, the students, principal, and staff take action by writing, emailing, and telegramming Harriet to make her return to them before things get even worse! Kindergarten-Grade 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 flambé) 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 Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. K-Gr. 2. In a kind of dietician's take on Harry Allard's Miss Nelson Is Missing (1977), cafeteria chef Harriet takes a vacation from an elementary school of picky eaters only to return to a hero's welcome. First, a tattooed hash-slinger from a downtown diner steps in, but his greasy food and subpar hygiene quickly grow old. Next comes a French chef who flambees the kitchen and fattens the kids; he is followed by increasingly disastrous substitutes, one of whom brings her own cauldron and serves up things that writhe right off the plate. The epistolary format, with letters, enclosed crayon drawings, and telegrams pleading for the cook's return, will please fans of similarly structured books, like Mark Teague's Dear Mrs. LaRue (2002), and Kelley's artwork exhibits its usual loosely doodled, expressive charm, employing a full watercolor palette to vividly portray both gloppy, horrific meals and healthful fruits and veggies. Use this to lighten up units on nutrition. Jennifer Mattson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Kelley's illustrations are a stitch--the facial expressions are right-on, and the students' drawings of their new lunches are hysterical. -- Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2005 True Kelley has illustrated many children’s books, including Hazel Nutt, Mad Scientist, winner of the Golden Duck Award for the best children’s science-fiction illustrated book of the year, written by David Elliott. School Lunch is her first solo venture for Holiday House. She lives in New Hampshire. Used Book in Good Condition