My first session at NCTE started with some of my favorite characters - Babymouse and Lunch Lady. I was so fortunate to attend a wonderful session where the creators of these characters shared their stories, ideas, and writing processes. Jarrett Krosockza began the session by telling us how Lunch Lady came to be. It's a very funny story - when he went back to give a presentation to the elementary school he attended as a child, he realized the same lunch lady was still serving lunch! He struck up a conversation with her and realized she had a life outside of school (when he was younger, he imagined her sleeping in the back of the cafeteria on a cot). This sparked the idea for a crime-fighting lunch lady. I was so impressed with how this idea for Lunch Lady sat in his notebooks for years - yes, years - before it finally came to be a graphic novel. He never gave up on the idea. He slowly developed it, thought about it, and finally the right time came along to publish it. Matthew and Jennifer Holm went next, and I loved hearing about their childhood. They are two of the funniest people you will ever hear present - so much laughter! I took lots of notes about the process they use as writers. When I shared this with my kids at school, they were amazed at how much revision goes into writing a book. Just as we learned during our word play unit, writing requires risk, imagination, and a playful spirit.
Here's me with Jennifer Holm (notice the bunny ears)...
Lizzie was so gracious to donate the first two Lunch Lady books to our classroom library. Thanks, Lizzie!
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