The Lunch Witch by Deb Lucke (A Family Comic Friday EXTRA)

When the world has lost its belief in magic and no longer has a need for it, what is a witch to do? In the case of this book published by Papercutz, the wicked Grunhilda takes a job at the local elementary school as a lunch lady. Her sour temper and terrible cooking make her the perfect candidate for the job. Grunhilda's ancestors even applaud her efforts to make the lunch menu as horrible as possible. But when the new girl in school seeks the witch's help in becoming more popular at school will Grunhilda buck tradition and do something good for once? Not if her ancestors have anything to say about it.

    Deb Lucke's tale was witty, charming, and fun. She crafted some very interesting and unique characters and the story and plot were quite good. But it was the art and how this book was crafted that I think was the real winner.

   The art looked like if came from those 'Scary Stories to Tell in The Dark' books from the 80s. Those stories were terrifying, but the art was downright creepy. The Lunch Witch had that creep factor, but it wasn't so disgusting or scary as to make the characters seem unappealing.

   The printing itself was another stroke of genius as it's set to match the action in the story. For example, when a spell gets set on fire, the next page is die cut with black smudging on the edges to make it look like the actual book your reading had accidentally caught flame. In another section where the Lunch Witch is cleaning up garbage, the pages appear to have smeared tomato bits on them. Brilliantly crafted stuff!

   This book is one that not just kids but grown-ups will enjoy. The level of creativity is inspiring and I hope the next Deb Lucke will see this book and is influenced to create the next Lunch Witch-type masterpiece.

   If this book doesn't win some awards I wouldn't just be shocked, I'd demand a recount.

   A classic in the making.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.