Wednesday, June 30, 2010

LL4 Blog Tour -- Book Faerie


Today, I am chatting with the readers over at Jo Ann Hahola's blog and of course, the Book Faerie herself! So please, ask questions in the comments section of her LL4 review and I will stop by throughout the day to answer your questions! Ask away here.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

LL4 Blog Tour -- Suvudu

Suvudu.com has obtained a leaked document! The Breakfast Bunch has obtained Betty's top-secret blueprints of Lunch Lady's gadgets! Suvudu's editors grill (no pun intended) Lunch Lady on their suspicions of her activities beyond the lunch room! Check out the exposé here! Download Betty's blueprints and design your own gadgets as well!



Monday, June 28, 2010

LL4 Blog Tour -- Booking Mama


Week 2 of the LL4 Blog Tour kicks off with a stop over at Booking Mama, where I chat with Julie Peterson for her Kid Connection feature. Check it out here!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

LL4 Blog Tour -- Parade.com's "Mom to Mom" blog

You'll have to wait for Sunday's paper to pull out your copy of Parade magazine, but you can read about LL4 over at their Mom to Mom blog today! Head on over to Parade.com's to hear what the Moms have to say about LL!



Sketchbook Saturday


LL studies - 2006

Friday, June 25, 2010

LL4 Blog Tour -- Random Acts of Reading


Day 5! Today, on the LL4 Blog Tour, I stop by the Random Acts of Reading blog to talk about the Lunch Lady series through the lens of an author on book tour. I list my "Top 10 Most Classic Book Store Moments".
Read all about it here!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

LL4 Blog Tour -- Dreams Can Be Reached


Day 4 of the LL4 Blog Tour! Today, I stop by Naomi Canale's blog, "Dreams Can Be Reached". Naomi chats with authors about how they got where they are and that is exactly what we discuss.
Read all about it here!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

LL4 Blog Tour - The Graphic Novel Reporter


Day 3 of the LL4 Blog Tour finds me chatting with the good folks over at The Graphic Novel Reporter. I discuss the use of graphic novels in the classroom—how to incorporate them into your curriculum, creating activities and give some recommendations of great titles to stock in your classroom. Read all about it here!



Tuesday, June 22, 2010

LL4 Blog Tour -- The Literary Asylum


The LL4 Blog Tour continues! Today, I stop by the Literary Asylum and chat with D.M. Cunningham. What comics and books did I read as a kid? Why are the Lunch Lady books graphic novels and not chapter books? If I could be any literary character, who would I be? Learn the answers here.



Monday, June 21, 2010

The LL4 Blog Tour -- begins today with 7-Impossible Things Before Breakfast




The LL4 Blog Tour begins today! For the next two weeks, I'll be stopping by all sorts of blogs to talk about different aspects of all things Lunch Lady. I'll be on book blogs, mom blogs, dad blogs, comics blogs, educator blogs—you name it! So check in every day to see where I am.

Today, I kick things off by lifting the curtain on the process of creating a Lunch Lady book. I stop by Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast and share sketches and antecdotes with the one and only Jules! Read all about it here!


Friday, June 18, 2010

Word -- flashback

Last month, I had a fantastic time at Word in Brooklyn, yucking it up with the very talented graphic novelists Matt Phelan (Storm in the Barn), Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle series) and Chris Giarusso (G-Man: Learning to Fly).

Here we are posing for the camera:


Here we are enjoying each other's work:



And here are Eric and Matt so graciously volunteering to dress as Lunch Lady and Betty:

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Finally saw LL in Times Sq in person!



It was quite possibly the most surreal experience of my life.





(It's only up for a few seconds, but MAN is it cool!)

These 5th graders Love Their Lunch Ladies

Check it out! The 5th graders at Stratton Elementary in Arlington, MA paid tribute to their lunch ladies by making them specially designed Lunch Lady aprons. I hope that after serving lunch, these lunch ladies will enjoy reading about serving justice!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Gadgets from Kids

Here are some more fantastic gadget ideas for Lunch Lady sent in by kids!




Do you have a note or a drawing that you'd like to share? I would love to see them!
They can be emailed to me via props@studiojjk.com or mailed to:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
PO Box 60155
Florence, MA 01062

Friday, June 11, 2010

Drawings from kids

Check out these great drawings by Frankie!





Do you have a note or a drawing that you'd like to share? I would love to see them!
They can be emailed to me via props@studiojjk.com or mailed to:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
PO Box 60155
Florence, MA 01062

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Twin cities -- THIS weekend!

Attention citizens of the Twin Cities, I'm coming your way! I'm still awaiting my invitation to Paisley Park, but perhaps Prince will turn up at one of these great events.



Rhythm and Words: a free family music and book festival presented by Dakota County Library
Saturday, June 12th at 1PM Festival runs from 10am–6 pm
Burnsville Performing Arts Center
12600 Nicollet Ave.
Burnsville, MN



Wild Rumpus Books
Sunday, June 13th at 12:30 PM
2720 West 43rd Street
Minneapolis, MN






The Red Balloon Bookshop
Sunday, June 13th at 3PM
891 Grand Avenue
St Paul, MN

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

LL in Times Sq

The cover for Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute is on display in Times Sq, along with the other winners in the Children's Choice Book Awards, for the whole month of June! Look for it on the Toys R Us jumbotron screen!



My buddy, Steve, snapped this picture for me. I'll be heading in to NYC next week to see it myself!

Monday, June 07, 2010

The Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarship Fund at the Worcester Art Museum



I was a lucky kid. I had two incredible parents who loved me beyond measure. They also happened to be my grandparents. Joe and Shirl always encouraged me to follow my own passions and always supported and fostered my creative efforts. They always made sure that I had pads of paper on long car trips, always stocked art supplies in the house and bought me a drafting table for my 14th birthday (which I still use to this day). They were even brave enough to eventually send me to college to study art. A remarkable decision for two people who came of age during the Great Depression.

One of Joe and Shirley's greatest gifts to me, one that would have a profound impact on my creative path, was to send me to art classes at the Worcester Art Museum. I'll never forget when my grandfather walked into my bedroom, when I was in the 6th grade. Public funding had all but eliminated arts education in the Worcester public schools at the time. He told me that it was up to me, but he wanted to send me to classes at the Worcester Art Museum. I was beyond thrilled. I took classes there from 6th through 12th grade, taking courses in comics, illustration, animation, and drawing. I met other kids who shared an interest in the arts, I was encouraged by the faculty members and it taught me that this talent I had for telling stories with pictures could make for a viable career.

Now that both Joe and Shirl are no longer with us, I reflect on what they have done for me and I am answering a call. I realize that there are lots of kids in my hometown who might be in a similar situation that I was in as a kid, but whose caretakers might not have the resources to send them to classes at the Worcester Art Museum. So I am announcing here, the "Joseph and Shirley Krosoczka Memorial Youth Scholarship Fund" at the Worcester Art Museum. My goal will be to contribute on a yearly basis from my own funds, as well as hold annual eBay auctions before the holiday season and hold raffles at my book signings in Worcester, MA. It may send two kids per year, it may send twenty. Either way, Joe and Shirl will continue to foster the creative efforts of Worcester's youth.

With the recent passing of my grandfather, some have asked if there was a charity they could donate to in his name. If you are so inclined, donations in the form of a check or a credit card can be sent to:

Worcester Art Museum
c/o Suzy Bonner
55 Salisbury St.
Worcester, MA 01609

Checks can be made to the Worcester Art Museum with the “Krosoczka Memorial fund” in the memo line or attached in the form of a note. Credit card donations (Visa, MC, or AmEx) can be sent in the form of a note with the card holders name, CC#, expiration date, and desired amount of donation.


Joe and Shirley gave me so much. I am who I am because of them. I do what I do because of them. They even gave me my nickname. My grandfather was always JDK and I, JJK.

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Interview on Kidsreads.com


The good people over at Kidsreads.com posted an interview with yours truly. We cover the Lunch Lady books, the movie adaptation and my upbringing. Check it out over at www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-krosoczka-jarrett.asp .

Gadgets from Kids

Look! More awesome LL gadgets by kids!





Do you have a note or a drawing that you'd like to share? I would love to see them!
They can be emailed to me via props@studiojjk.com or mailed to:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
PO Box 60155
Florence, MA 01062