Knights of the Lunch Table

Knights of the Lunch Table, by Frank Camusso (Scholastic Graphix)

Shelby says: The story is about a boy named Artie King who is new in town and he has to go to a new school called Camelot Middle School. His sister, Morgan, is just a jerk who makes him miss the bus and makes him a soap sandwich for lunch. Artie makes the school bully mad because he gives him a soap sandwich that his sister made. Artie is the only one who can open cursed locker number 001XCL, so he becomes like the king of the school. The school bully, who thinks he’s the king, challenges Artie to a game of dodgeball against The Horde. Artie’s friends’ names are Percy, Wayne, and Gwen and they play dodgeball with Artie. The supervillanous principal, Mrs. Dagger, is on the bullys’ side, I guess ‘cause she’s evil. The science teacher is Mr. Merlyn and gets Artie and his friends out of trouble.

Sarah says: Knights of the Lunch Table is good for everybody. The story is basically the King Arthur story at a school, and instead of a sword in a stone, it’s a locker that’s busted and only can Artie King can open it. If you know about King Arthur and the whole pulling-the-sword-out-of-the-stone story, you can understand it and get the references. But, if you haven’t heard about that, you can still enjoy it because it makes sense on its own. Some people might not get that the lunch ladies are the three witches from Macbeth, but even if they don’t get that, they’ll get that the ladies are weird. The story is still really good and funny even if you don’t get any of that other stuff. I read it 3 times in a row!

Shelby says: I liked the drawings because the characters were cartoony but the settings were detailed and it was really, really colorful. Kids will like this book even if they don’t know the story of King Arthur because I liked it and I don’t know that much about it. I liked the pictures because they are really colorful and fun. I like the story, too, because it wasn’t exactly like every other story in the world.

Tracy says: This is a great example of an all-ages book. Kids will love the story of Artie and his friends facing down the bullies and the evil principal, while older readers will get a kick out of the clever parallels and references to everything medieval and literary. The amazing thing is how well the story stands on its own even with all the word play. It’s clever and easy to follow and each character is clearly defined visually. The panel layouts are dynamic but never get in the way of the story. Knights of the Lunch Table flows beautifully and keeps the action and laughs coming. I highly recommend this book for all libraries and classrooms.

See a sneak peek here.