Daddy Clay: Hey there, welcome back to a special episode of The Lab. I'm Daddy Clay. Today's
episode is brought to you by BabyBjorn. They make great baby carriers. I'm really, really
excited about today's episode, because today we're going to interview one of my favorite
kids authors. This is Jarrett Krosoczka and he's the author of this Lunch Lady series
that my kids have adored ever since the first one came out. Jarrett, thanks so much for
joining us today. Jarrett Krosoczka: Sure. Thanks for having
me Clay. Daddy Clay: Those who don't know. Those who
aren't groupies like me. Tell them a little bit about the Lunch Lady series.
Jarrett: The Lunch Lady series is about a mild-mannered cafeteria worker who secretly
fights crime. She is more like a James Bond or Batman in that she doesn't have superpowers,
but she relies on her wits. And she relies on all of these gadgets, these spy gadgets
that her sidekick Betty makes. So she has a hand-held helicopter that's actually disguised
as a spatula, and it's called a Spatucopter. Her arsenal is disguised as cafeteria stuff,
so that should the principal, or the librarian, or any teacher see her snooping around the
school, she can just automatically transform her spy gear back to cafeteria gear.
Daddy Clay: How many books are there in the series at this point?
Jarrett: Well the fourth book was just published. But I just finished the art for the fifth
book. And that book will be out in December. Daddy Clay: And one of the great things about
these books that you just pointed out is you're not just the author. You're also the Illustrator
of the books. They're graphic novels. Jarrett: Yes, they're graphic novels. I'm
the author and the illustrator. So I think very visually so when I'm starting to think
about the next book, I'll draw a picture and I'll write a few words, and I'll draw some
more pictures and write a few more words. For me, the writing and the illustrating part
- they really go hand in hand. Daddy Clay: And one of the great things about
it being a graphic novel is it makes it accessible to younger kids. It's a great book for beginning
readers. And even kids that are interested in chapter books also love the Lunch Lady
series. Jarrett: Yeah, I've heard a lot of positive
feedback from parents who are just so grateful that their kids are picking up books, the
Lunch Lady books. And they're reading them because they want to and these are kids who
just wouldn't read at all. Daddy Clay: One of the great benefits of writing
a book which lionizes lunch ladies, I mean do you get people throwing hair nets as you
wherever you go? Jarrett: Well, I visit schools often during
the year and let's just say there are homemade brownies and cookies waiting for me now.
Daddy Clay: Not only that. These books have been incredibly successful and popular. They're
probably keeping you busy running all over the country but you're also a relatively new
dad. Is that right? Jarrett: I am. I have a one and a half year
old daughter named Zoe. Daddy Clay: Has your approach to writing the
books or your experience writing the books changed? Because obviously you were writing
these before you're a dad. Jarrett: With the Lunch Lady books, maybe
not so much yet because it'll be quite some time before my daughter is old enough to read
them. But in terms of my approach to my picture books, because I also write and illustrate
picture books, she's definitely had a big impact because I watch what she's reacting
to the books. Daddy Clay: Tell us a little bit about the
books that you love to read to your daughter. Jarrett: We've been reading to our daughter
every night since she was born. Before she could even pick up her head. And it's made
a huge difference because now at one and a half, she's picking up books, she's turning
the pages. And she's just making noises. She thinks she's reading but she's not just yet.
So I have a stack of books here. Right now, this is her favorite book - Hop on Pop by
Dr. Seuss. Daddy Clay: One problem with that book though
is they'll take that one pretty literally. Jarrett: She does. She absolutely does. But
I have a bunch of books here that are contemporary books. The Cat the Cat series by Mo Willems.
I am sure everyone has a Mo book in their house. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.
But the Cat the Cat series, my daughter just loves and she laughs at it. She laughs out
loud. The very first book that she ever laughed out loud to is by Tom Warburton called 1000
Time No. And as you can imagine, she loves this word to being with. So she laughed out
loud. She just loved it. Daddy Clay: Thanks a lot to Jarrett Krosoczka.
This is his latest in the Lunch Lady series, a fantastic one. You need to add this to your
library. Take him to heart. Use those suggestions. Go pick up some of those books for your younger
readers as well. We want to thank our sponsors BabyBjorn for helping make this episode possible
and we hope we'll see you next time here in DadLabs.