‘Lunch Lady’ Author to Hold Online Auction for Worcester Art Museum

Monday, December 01, 2014

Patrick Sargent, GoLocal Worcester Contributor

Jarret Krosoczka

All week long, Jarrett Krosoczka, author and illustrator of the popular 'Lunch Lady' series, will be hosting an online auction for the Worcester Art Museum to help raise funds for youth scholarships. Krosoczka, from Worcester, memorialized the scholarships after his grandparents, Joseph and Shirley, who are responsible for giving Krosoczka an opportunity to pursue his dreams.

"This year I will be auctioning off original art form books, the chance to get your kid's name worked into a book and some other fun pieces. We typically raise a few thousand dollars annually, enough to gift art courses to several children throughout the year," said Krosoczka.

Krosoczka, a graduate of Holy Name High School, is also the author of the 'Platypus Police Squad' series and the book 'Peanut Butter and Jellyfish,' which was released in April. As a junior at Holy Name in 1994, Krosoczka painted a mural of the Holy Name mascot the Napoleon. Twenty years later, it is still there.

The Auction at WMA

The purpose of the Joseph and Shirley Memorial Youth Scholarships is to connect children with the arts. The auction to raise funds for the scholarship was Krosoczka's idea. After Krosoczka's grandparents passed away, he reflected on the opportunity they had provided for him.

"One of the most instrumental gifts that they bestowed on me was an art education at the Worcester Art Museum. It changed my life. Art helped me get through some very difficult emotional issues, and my instructors at WAM taught me that a career in the arts was possible," said Krosoczka.

This is the fifth year the auction has been held. The scholarships are intended for children with limited financial means. The auction is held every year on Cyber Monday and offers unique items that can only be found direct from the artist.

Worcester 'Lunch Lady' Inspires Series

After Krosoczka published his first book, 'Good Night, Monkey Boy' in 2001, he celebrated the release by visiting his old elementary school, Gates Lane in Worcester. "During the day, I ran into the beloved "lunch lady" of my youth, Jeanne Cariglia. I couldn't believe that she was still working, busily preparing meals for the day. I struck up a conversation with her and in that, learned about her grandchildren. That simple fact blew my mind—my lunch lady existed outside of the school cafeteria? That initial thought led me to write a picture book about what lunch ladies would do with themselves when they weren't serving food. However, that book went nowhere fast. But there was a small piece there that survived various drafts and led to the graphic novels, because on one page I imagined that the lunch lady would secretly be a vigilante superhero."

Krosoczka is currently taking a break from the 'Lunch Lady' series and is working on a comics anthology called 'Comics Squad.' He is also working on several new picture books and adding titles to the 'Platypus Police Squad' series.

Krosozcka Started Writing Early

"I wrote my first book in the PEAK program in the Worcester Public Schools. It was called 'The Owl Who Thought He Was the Best Flyer.' I still have the book, and I show photos of it at the several schools that I lecture at nationwide," said Krosozcka.

At Holy Name. Krosozcka was hired as the school's newspaper cartoonist. His first published piece was in the Telegram and Gazette's editorial contest. He also took several classes at WAM. "My favorites were all taught by Mark Lynch and they were all about comic books and animation. Mark even published the class's work and sold the anthology at That's Entertainment. Worcester certainly provided me with many opportunities," said Krosozcka.

When asked to give advice to aspiring writers, Krosoczka said, "Number one is to just write, write, write and read. If you are a kid, repeat that first step until you become a grown-up, and of course study hard in school and college. If you are a grown-up already, pay attention to that first step, but then step two,send your work out and get it rejected. Get it rejected a lot of times, because that will happen. I sent my work out for two years before anything happened." Krosoczka also notes that joining the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is a good idea for those looking to have a profession in writing and illustrating children books.

To view auction items, please click here.