🟢 Book Review: Lunch Every Day by Kathyrn Otoshi
- zapoura
- Sep 10
- 2 min read
RATING: 🟢 Recommended
REVIEWER: Bradley Guile
REVIEW METHODOLOGY: Louise Derman-Spark's Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children's Books from the Social Justice Books Project, Teaching for Change
“Huh, Skinny Kid’s having a party.
Everyones invited.
Even me.”
Lunch Every Day (Authored and Illustrated by Kathryn Otoshi) is a brilliant story about the importance of empathy, kindness, and the ability to transform. Based on a true story, we are introduced to Jimmy, a young kid who bullies, harasses, and steals the lunch of a classmate every day. At first, its pretty easy to dislike Jimmy, but as you delve further into the pages you learn that Jimmy’s got it pretty rough himself. Between older brothers who push him around, trouble making friends at school, and having to steal lunches to eat, one can infer that he’s had a tough go of life. Through the actions of the other characters in the story, Kathryn demonstrates the healing power of compassion.
Kathryn Otoshi wrote this heartwarming tale based on a true story from the childhood of her acquaintance Jim Perez. The somber colors and minimalistic illustrations are the perfect complement to the subtle nature of the narrative. Jimmy is depicted throughout the book in heavy purple-blue colors that reflect his somber and indifferent attitude towards life. This conflicts with the expressive and bright colors of the students and the events happening around Jimmy. This use of contrasting colors further bolsters the representation of Jimmy throughout the story.
This book isn't just for children, It's a story that will spark conversations both in the classroom and at home about the importance of looking past someone's actions and considering the “why”in each individual's life. It touches on early-conflict themes like hunger, acceptance, the need for empathy, death/loss, and uses them all to educate the reader, child and adult alike.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
REVIEWER BIO: Bradley Guile was a student at Portland State University and took Zapoura Newton-Calvert's Social Justice in K12 Curriculum course. Their volunteer work was a partnership with Reading Is Resistance and the Social Justice Books Project from Teaching for Change.
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