Lunch Every Day

Picture book

    The unnamed narrator of Kathryn Otoshi's Lunch Every Day is not about to stand in the free and reduced lunch line every day.  Lucky for him there's Skinny Kid whose mom packs a very good lunch.  Whose lunch is so easy to take.  Who also probably has a less violent home life.

     One day someone sees him pushing Skinny Kid.  He gets sent to the principal's office where he gets lectured on living up to his potential.  He pretends to feel bad while really feeling mad.

     But that's the only time he gets called on his behavior.  The lunch taking goes on and on...

     ...until one day the whole class gets invited to Skinny Kid's birthday and he receives quite a surprise.

     And kids and adults who read the Author's Note are in for quite a surprise.

     I think that Lunch Every Day is an important book for children and grownups.  The world tends to take an either or approach to bullying.  Either the bully is exactly that or the victim is a snowflake, someone who has to toughen up to handle the "real world".  The reality is much more complex.  We need to realize kids can get that, maybe better than we can.

     The unusual illustrations work perfectly.  The undetailed faces provide an aura of universality while the characters' posture and proximity to each other communicate eloquently.

On a purrrsonal note, I believe that the book provides a perfect example of a situation in which schools need to practice restorative justice.  Technically there's a free and reduced lunch line.  But kids can see who is in it.  And poverty carries a stigma.  The principal, delivering a lecture, is clearly clueless.  Adults going all righteous on kids they label bullies don't realize that the parts of the brain that govern stuff like judgement and decision making aren't fully operational until twenty-five.  (Jules)

The sun is just rising.  Winter nights are so long.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Otoshi for addressing this issue so eloquently through a powerful text/illustration combination.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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