>> From the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
>> Jarrett Krosoczka is the author and illustrator of the Lunch Ladies graphic novels as well as numerous popular picture books including, Punk Farm, Punk Farm on Tour, Bag Head, and Annie was Warned.
>> Jarrett's newest book Lunch Lady and the Field Trip Fiasco continues the hilarious and delicious graphic novel series.  Lunch Lady and the breakfast bunch are on a school field trip to an art museum but while Lunch Lady is busy taking in all the cultures the kids have caught onto something strange.  Some of the art work looks suspiciously fake.
>> Now DE Hector and Terrence are determined to get down to the bottom of this conspiracy but Lunch Lady is too odd to catch on.
>> Will she snap out of it and come to the rescue or will the breakfast bunch have to handle this operation alone.
>> Du- du- du.
>> Who wants to learn more.  Welcome Jarrett Krosoczka.  Yeah.
>> Thank you.  Hello Nation Book Festival, how are you?  You have a Lunch Lady book.  Well my name is Jarrett Krosoczka and I am an author and an illustrator and I feel very lucky that I get to do both jobs because I get to both write the words in the story and I get to draw the pictures in the story.  And from the very beginning so I can decide what part of the story will be told using the words and what part of the story will be told using the pictures.  So I'm going to start off today by talking about this graphic novel series I have about a Lunch Lady who fights crime.  And so far there are six books in the series, there is, Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians, Lunch Lady and the Author Vendetta, Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shake Down, Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit, and the newly released Lunch Lady and the Field Trip Fiasco which just came out two weeks ago.  And I have already finished the seventh book see this is the way publishing works, you know, the book comes out and the author finished writing all the words the illustrator finished drawing all the pictures months if not at least a year before that so I've already finished Lunch Lady number seven.  And it comes out in March and it's called, Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes.  And I'm currently writing Lunch Lady number eight and it won't be out until next year and it's called Lunch Lady and the Picture Day Parol.  So this is where it came from because I didn't just wake up one day and have this fully envisioned story about a lunch lady that fights crime.  What happened was one day I want back to my old elementary school to talk about being an author and when I was there I ran in to my old Lunch Lady from when I was a kid and she started telling me about her grand kids and I said, whoa you have a family of your own, I thought you lived in the kitchen with the tator tots, I didn't know you left at the end of the day and you had this whole other life.  So I went home and I started thinking to myself what would a lunch lady do when she wasn't suffering food.  And I said she'd be fighting crime.  And so this is Lunch Lady and she has a sidekick does any -- does anyone who what her sidekicks name is?  Do you guys know? 
>> Betty.
>> What's up, Betty, yes, it's Betty.  Betty is her sidekick Lunch Lady.  She helps her make the peas and carrots for lunch but Betty also invents all the different gadgets that Lunch Lady uses.  Because she's a Lunch Lady, she can't walk around the school with spy cameras and nun chucks because people will wonder what their Lunch Lady is doing with spy cameras and nun chucks no she has fish stick nun chucks and does anyone else know what else she uses?  She uses a spork phone.
>> Chicken nugget bombs.
>> Chicken nugget bombs.  Yeah, they're chicken nuggets that explode.  Anyone know of the other ones, this is awesome, you guys have read these books.
>>  Hamburger headphones.
>> Hamburger headphones, yeah.  She puts the hamburgers on and it's like she can hear like the [inaudible] for three thousand if you guys remember that infomercial.  Yes. 
>> [Inaudible].
>> The lunch tray laptop.  Yeah it's a laptop computer disguised as a lunch tray. 
>> Taco vision night goggles.
>> Wow, taco vision night goggles, yeah.  They're tacos but you can see at night, yes.
>> Cookie camera.
>> A cookie camera it's a cookie that's really a camera.  Yes, you.
>> [Inaudible].
>> Do I have hot dogs, not yet.  [Laughter] but I don't think I have anything that is a hot dog.  Do you know one.
>> [Inaudible].
>> A spatula copter.  It's spatula that's a helicopter.  So here's the thing as I mentioned I'm working on all of these Lunch Lady stories and she has all of these big superhero poses and I have to be honest with you guys I'm running out of ideas.  You can only come up with so many superhero poses before you just get tapped with ideas.  Is there anyone here to who is brave enough to come up on stage with me and strike a superhero pose.  I would need two volunteers.  We have two volunteers right here they are already lined up.  Come on up, come on up.  Okay.  People have already volunteered.  Okay.  And what is your name?  
>> Tatina
>> Tatina.  Nice to meet you.  And what is your name?  
>> Ady.
>> Ady come on over here.  If you guys come could come stand right over here.  Now there's something that you guys volunteered and that's very brave of you but there's something I didn't get a chance to mention before you guys came up on stage and it's pretty important because I need you to look like Lunch Lady and Betty.  So that's for you, see this is for you.  Now does anyone know what Lunch Lady's apron does besides just being a thing to not get her dirty from ketchup and mustard.  Yes it's a parachute, yes it's a parachute.  It can be a parachute.  What else does it do?  
>> [Inaudible].
>> It can be a shield, you're right, you're right.  Okay.  Here let me give this to you.  And let's see what I have in here and I'll give this to you.  So what I need you guys to do is I also like to listen to music when I draw so I wanted you to strike a big superhero pose and hold that pose for the duration of the music okay.  So you guys we're going to get ready, I want you to step right over here.  I think she is being a little shy so do you want to step right over here are you guys sisters?  Yeah.  You stand here, you stand here.  Okay on the count of three I want you guys to strike a big pose and my friend back there with the CD is going to play the song, okay?  You guys ready?  On the count of 3, 1, 2, 3.  Okay.  Look at me a little bit.  Look at me so I can see you.
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[ Music ]
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>> This is called a gesture sketch on how to get a feel of the pose.  Excellent, excellent, thank you.  Let's give a big round of applause for our lunch ladies. [Applause] Lunch Lady cool.  I'm going to call up on two more volunteers.  I'll take this and I'll take your aprons.  I need two more volunteers I think I have time for two more volunteers.  So let me scan the audience, right there in the blue shirt, come on up and then let me think, who else, right there, with the -- you've got a tree on your shirt, you have a tree on your shirt.  Thank you, thank you, thank you very much.  Okay.  And what is your name?  
>> Jarrett.
>> You're name is Jarrett, oh my goodness that's my name.  How do you spell your name?  
>> J-a-r-r-e-t-t.  
>> J-a-r-r-e-t-t, this is unbelievable.  Jarrett you are -- I am 33 years old you are the 6th Jarrett that I have ever met in my entire life.  It is a pleasure to meet you.  Have you ever met any other Jarrett's.
>> No.
>> I get to be his first other Jarrett that is so cool.  And what is your name, don't tell me Jarrett because that would be really weird.
>> Juliana.
>> Juliana.  How are you, come on over here.  Juliana come on over here.  So let me see, let me see, I'm going to give you that, I'm going to give you that, and I'm going to give you that, and I'm going to give you this.  That is wild.  Here you go.  Here you go.  Here give me a hand.  Okay.  Ready.  Okay.  So think big, think there is like this giant robot coming to attach the target stage and you are going to project us Lunch Lady and Betty on the count of 3, ready 1, 2, 3. 
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[ Music ]
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>> Thanks once again.  Let's give them a big round of applause.  Thank you so much.  Thank you so much.  [Applause] I will de Lunch Lady you.  And let me see.  I think we'll have time for one more pair of lunch laid eye.  Okay.  Let's see, let's see, let's see, let's see.  Right there in the blue shirt.  Right there, come on up.  And let me see, let me see, let me see, let me see, let me see, let me see, let me see, let me see.  Right over there, okay.  Come on up here, come on up over here.  That's it.  You can come up too we can share we can share.  What is your name?  
>> Aiden.
>> Aiden, night to meet you I'm Jarrett.  What is your name?  
>> Zack.
>> Zack, nice to meet you.  What is your name?  
>> [Inaudible].
>> Nice to meet you, come on over, come on over, come on over.  We're going to start with you, there you go.  Come right over here.  Here you go.  Hold that.  You stand right over here pal.  Let's see.  Should I put it over here.  I'll put it over here.  I'm going to put it over here.  Here you go.  There you go.  There you go.  There you go.  There you go.  Here you go.  So step right over here my friends.  Step right over there, step right over there.  Not to close to the edge of the stage though.  Here my friend right here why don't you come right here, okay.  Okay.  On the count of 3, make it really big guys, ready, 1, 2, 3.  Whoa, it's like matrix style.
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[ Music ]
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>> Awesome let's give them a round of applause.  Thanks so much.  Take a bow, take a bow, take a bow.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  And I will take that, I will take that.  You guys can just leave that stuff over here.  Well, you know, before I was writing these graphic novels I had this whole other career that's very similar to what I'm doing now in that I was telling story with words and pictures and I was making picture books there was Bag Head, there was Punk Farm. [Applause] Thank you, thank you very much.  Well I am so excited to have a new picture book coming out and it's called Ollie and Ollie won't be published until October 11th.  So it's not available here but I brought one of the copies I had at home to read for you guys so it's a sneak preview of my next picture book and it's called Ollie the Purple Elephant.  Mr. McLaughlin had always told is children that should they ever come across a purple elephant they could keep him.  Peter and Shelby so wanted an elephant to call their own.  One day on a stroll through the park Shelby tugged at her father's shirt and said, look daddy.  Sure enough there in the flower gardens sat a purple elephant.  He was lost and had no place to call him.  Mr. and Mrs. McLaughlin looked at each other in disbelief.  Well, a promise is a promise, said Mr. McLaughlin.  Mr. Elephant said, Peter would you like to come live with us.  That would be nice, said the elephant, but please call me Ollie.  And that is how Ollie came to live with the McLaughlin family.  Mr. And Mrs. McLaughlin gave Ollie the rules of the house.  Be nice to one another, no running with scissors and help with the chores.  Ollie was agreeable to these.  The children made up a bed on the foldout couch in the living room.  Ollie didn't have a room to call his own, but he didn't mind he was happy.  Ollie quickly involved himself in the children's lives.  He enjoyed hopscotch though he needed some practice you would think him a natural at soccer but he preferred Shelby's ballet lessons.  He also enjoyed kickball but he was too strong a kicker for his own good.  Ollie was especially popular on hot days when the kids needed relief from the heat.  After dinner the McLaughlin family an impromptu to dance parties.  Oh the dance parties they would have Ollie loved to dance, but Ginger the McLaughlin's cat didn't much care for dancing.  She didn't much care for Ollie for that matter either he had taken her favorite spot in the house at night.  Mr. Puddlebottom the McLaughlin downstairs neighbor certainly wasn't happy with the new tenant at all.  Over the months Gingers distain for Ollie grew and grew.  Finally she came up with a devious plan, one evening Ginger scratched at Mr. Puddlebottom's door he was particularly cranky as the dance party upstairs was particularly lively.  His foul mood aside he invited Ginger in for a saucer of milk.  She laid out her scheme and Mr. Puddlebottom give way to the wide grim.  It's brilliant he said.  My famous cousin would be delighted to have an extra animal for his show, and with that the conspirators shook hands.  That night the McLaughlins were all tucked in their beds, Ginger cozied up to Ollie, you know, the McLaughlin family regrets ever taking you in.  Naturally this upset Ollie, the McLaughlins made the world to him.  The thought of being a burden to them broke his heart but where would he go, where would I go.  Well, said Ginger, the circus is in town for one final night perhaps they would take you.  Ginger helped Ollie pack his bags.  But that is pretty much all the time I have so I'm sorry, I really am out of time.  They're going to -- a big hook is going to come and take me.  But so it will be out in a few weeks but for one final thing I will draw a quick picture of Ollie and talk to you about where Ollie came from.  I am about to celebrate my 4th wedding anniversary to my wonderful wife Gina whose hiding in here I'm not going to point her out A because I don't know exactly where she is and B she will kill me if I do.  But when we were married and then we honeymooned in Maui and we had this long flight back home to Massachusetts and on the flight home I said, my dear bride what should I draw.  And she said, draw an elephant.  So on that flight home from our honeymoon four years ago I drew an elephant and his name became Ollie and his book is just about to hit bookshelves.  Well, thank so much for being such awesome audience I'm Jarrett Krosoczka I'll be signing at another tent somewhere at 3:00 or so.  Thank you so much. [Applause]
>> This has been a presentation of the Library of Congress.  Visit us at loc.gov.
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