From award-winning author-illustrators Supriya Kelkar and Jarrett Lerner comes an illustrated middle-grade novel about a pair of unlikely friends determined to save the library that brought them together
Roohi and Nate are not friends. Their paths have crossed a handful of times over the years-and the outcome has never been good. Nate thinks Roohi is a snobby know-it-all, and Roohi thinks Nate is nothing but a slacker.
But that begins to change when they both somewhat reluctantly join a reading club that meets during lunch at their school library. The Lunch Bunch allows Roohi to open up about feeling disconnected from her friends on the track team after a broken toe sidelined her for the season. Nate, who has always struggled in school, shares how tired he is of constantly being compared to his genius older brother. Despite their differences, and maybe because of them, Roohi and Nate form a friendship unlike any other they've ever had, with each other and with the other kids in the club.
As the Lunch Bunch gets stronger, though, things seem to be falling apart at the library. When the kids learn that their beloved librarian, Mrs. Sharp's, job may be in danger due to budget cuts, they band together to find a solution . . . which proves to be easier said than done. Can Roohi and Nate's new friendship survive outside of the Lunch Bunch in order to save the place that brought them together? Supriya Kelkar is an Indian American author and mixed-media illustrator. Honored by the Michigan House and Governor Whitmer for her "outstanding contribution to children's literature," she is the author of award-winning books like Strong as Fire; Fierce as Flame (the 2022 middle school Global Read Aloud selection); American As Paneer Pie; That Thing about Bollywood; The Cobra's Song; And Yet You Shine: the Kohinoor Diamond, Colonization, and Resistance; Brown Is Beautiful, illustrated by Noor Sofi; and many other acclaimed middle-grade novels and picture books. She lives in Michigan with her husband and kids and invites you to visit her on Instagram at @supriya.kelkar and online at www.supriyakelkar.com
Jarrett Lerner is the award-winning author-illustrator of more than two dozen books for kids, including the EngiNerds series of middle grade novels, the Geeger the Robot series of early chapter books, the activity books Give This Book a Title and Give This Book a Cover, The Hunger Heroes series of graphic novel chapter books, the Nat the Cat series of early readers, the Scare School Diaries series of highly illustrated chapter books, and the My Mad Scientist Mom series of illustrated chapter books. Jarrett is also the creator of the illustrated novel in verse A Work in Progress (the 2023 middle school Global Read Aloud selection). He can be found at jarrettlerner.com and on Instagram at @Jarrett_Lerner. He lives with his wife and daughters in Massachusetts.
