Knee-Deep in Niceness

Gr 4–6—Don't be fooled by rumors that witch—turned—lunch lady Grunhilda Blackheart has gone soft. She's just as tough and crabby as she ever was. Or is she? Grunhilda's dog, Mr. Williams, spies his owner lovingly poring over letters from the girl she helped in her debut outing, The Lunch Witch, and becomes worried. To placate the ancestors, whose ire will surely be roused if Grunhilda can't prove her commitment to evil, Mr. Williams opens The-Book-That-Is-Not-To-Be-Used-for-Good and accidentally casts a spell: Vince's Potion for Positivity. Soon, sunny thoughts are everywhere, the ancestors are on the warpath—and a terrified Mr. Williams flees, along with Grunhilda's bats. Lucke employs a downright dingy palette, dominated by beige and olive green—the very pages look flecked with dirt—ideal for the story's subject matter and darkly funny, deliciously irreverent tone. The characters have a grotesquely exaggerated feel (think—Roz Chast for the younger set), from hairnet-sporting, grim-faced Grunhilda to the do-gooder Boy Scout she finds herself saddled with in her quest to put things right (or, perhaps more accurately, wrong). This zany, off-the-wall caper explodes with humor and action and is bound to keep readers laughing, though some may be put off by the more disgusting elements.