Lunch Bunnies is the story of a little boy named Clyde who harbors an irrational fear of making a fool out of himself on his first day of school, in the lunchroom. Anyone with small children can instantly relate how Clyde becomes obsessive with doing the lunchroom thing right!
The night before his first day at a new school, Clyde is seen "practicing" by carrying a tray of food. Of course there is a big brother present (Jefferson)who does his best to plant seeds of doubt in Clyde's mind and delights in tormenting the poor lad with stories of inedible food ("Mystery Goosh), and the ubiquitous lunch ladies with "bristly" faces who have all of the charm and caring of a Third World Dictator. Poor Clyde is scared to death!
My favorite part of the book was when it was time for the children to queue up, and proceed into the lunchroom. As a teacher of small children myself, I can't help but wonder if the author is not poking gentle fun at the anality of the lunchroom ritual, where children must quietly, in monk-like manner, line up and process orderly, much as inmates are required to in correctional centers.
Nevertheless, this book was a hit with my 10 year old daughter when she first started school, and it is a hit with my son, who will start first grade this fall. All children, and even some of us adults, have irrational fears that we blow way out of proportion. But the message of Lunch Bunnies, a message adults would do well to heed, is that nothing is as bad as we imagine it, and things always seem to work out just fine.
