The Incredible Shrinking Lunchroom

Can a principled principal help beleaguered students? The students at Parley Elementary School are fed up with their overcrowded, noisy, messy lunchroom. Soliciting help via polite correspondence with their principal, Ms. Mensch, they receive peculiar advice: Science projects should be placed on lunchroom tables; classroom pets should be brought to the lunchroom; sports teams must practice in the lunchroom. After carrying out these odd instructions-and seeing the situation deteriorate further-the desperate kids fire off another entreaty. Ever optimistic Ms. Mensch's new solution? Projects, animals, and athletes must exit the lunchroom pronto. The result? The lunchroom is wonderfully spacious, neat, and quiet! Readers will note and appreciate that Ms. Mensch, who enjoys eating privately at her own desk, receives ample rewards in the end. The author's note mentions that this story was inspired by a wise, witty Yiddish folktale, which serves as the basis for Margot Zemach's It Could Always Be Worse. This book succeeds as an updated, equally humorous parable that conveys the realities of today's schools and educators while emphasizing the moral to put life in perspective and be grateful for what one has. Children will relate to the students' predicament and chuckle over the extremes they undergo to achieve a fix. The riotous digital illustrations capably match the comical shenanigans. Students are depicted diverse as to race, ethnicity, and physical ability. Ms. Mensch is light-skinned; some children wear kippot, and one child wears a patka. Sage, farcical wisdom for lunchtime or any time. -Kirkus Reviews The clas sic Jew ish folk tale about the crowd ed house that becomes even more crowd ed when the wise rab bi sug gests adding farm ani mals to the mix has been told in count less ver sions over the years, some using the tra di tion al vil lage set ting, oth ers a vari ety of unique twists. This new take on the sto ry is set in a mod ern-day school build ing and, when the sto ry begins, the lunch room is packed with stu dents. It is so crowd ed that it's hard to find a place to sit and food spills on every one and every thing. The stu dents write a let ter to Mrs. Men sch, the prin ci pal, ask ing for a solu tion to the prob lem. Much as the sage, learned rab bi in the orig i nal tale, Mrs. Men sch has her own meth ods that are not appar ent to the stu dents. The sci ence fair dis plays are moved to the lunch room, the class room pets are relo cat ed to the tables, and the sports teams are invit ed in for prac tice. When the stu dents com plain about the over crowd ing, which is even worse than before, the sports teams return out doors, the pets to the class rooms, and the sci ence projects to the hall ways. The stu dents can now enjoy the roomy lux u ry of their new lunchroom. An author's note cred its one ver sion of the sto ry, It Could Always Be Worse by Mar got Zemach, as the inspi ra tion for this rol lick ing book, with its amus ing, car toon-like illus tra tions and straight for ward yet delight ful prose. Babay retells Zemach's sto ry, cit ing the pos i tive effect it has had on her life and high light ing the Jew ish con cept of sameach b'chelko, or being grate ful for all one has. Babay also uses the oppor tu ni ty to reflect on the over crowd ing in many schools and the toll this takes on ded i cat ed teach ers. She express es the hope that the sit u a tion will improve and gives a well-deserved nod to edu ca tors who teach in over crowd ed schools, empha siz ing that a pos i tive point of view goes a long way in ame lio rat ing con di tions while work ing for change. This charm ing take on the clas sic sto ry can be used by par ents and teach ers to pro mote dis cus sion, but it is also just plain fun. -Jewish Book Council