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In the “Pitching An Agent” feature at mediabistro.com, literary agent Laura Langlie gave aspiring YA writers some hints on how to pitch her agency.

Langlie represents author Meg Cabot, Meg Tilly and others. She founded her own literary agency after years of working in publishing, including six years as an agent at Kidde, Hoyt & Picard. Check it out:

Langlie sees a lot of young adult (YA) and middle-grade fiction writers who talk down to their readers. “People have this misconception that writing for children is easy. A middle-grade or YA novel is simply a novel for that age level. It still has to have great characters and a great story arc. You have to try and remember what you were like when you were that age,” said Langlie, who represents Delia Ray (Here Lies Linc) and others.

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A number of titles have been nominated for the American Library Association’s YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list.

Taken by Norah McClintock;
Jacked, an Orca Soundings novel by Carrie Mac;
First Time, an Orca Soundings novel by Meg Tilly;
Five Minutes More by Darlene Ryan.
The list will be voted on at the ALA Midwinter Conference in Boston in January.

More info here.

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This is my first encounter with author Meg Tilly, in a book that I had such high hopes for. The topic of losing one's father to a war and then one's mother to depression is certainly not an easy one to tackle, however I was sadly quite disappointed with the manner in which Tilly had her characters go through their losses. I just missed something...

In Porcupine, Jacqueline or "Jack" as the tomboy twelve year old goes by, is her father's favorite. She has a snobby younger sister and an adorable younger brother, but she has always been her dad's favorite and both she and her father secretly know this. When her dad goes away to Afghanistan and does not return home, Jack, and her entire family are devastated. Her mom retreats into herself, failing to care for her children and leaving Jack to do the job of finding money for food, keeping the house clean, and trying to make her siblings stay cheerful.

When things get to be too much for her mother to bear, Jack and her brother and sister are swept into the car and told they are going to visit the great-grandmother they never knew they had. Soon, the kids are living on a farm in the middle of nowhere, with a relative that resents their mother something fierce, and a whole lot of thinking time on their hands.

Over the course of a few months, Jack starts to learn that it doesn't really matter if her family is "typical," but rather that she is happy with her newfound situation, making the best of the hand she's been dealt.

Though I think the premise of the Porcupine was good and the topic is one that definitely needs to be talked about, especially during the time of war we are currently in, Porcupine just was not the right way to do it. My biggest complaint is probably the language that Jack uses. I counted so many times in which the "f" word was used and "a**hole" was shouted at someone and in this particular book, I didn't feel it had a place. Now I'm not saying that I don't like swear words in teen books...sometimes they have the perfect place...however, the language Jack showcased felt out of place, forced, completely unnecessary, and false.

Overall, I was not impressed. I checked this out at a library near my home and it had been cataloged as a middle grade fiction book, a decision I probably would have made too. After reading it and looking it up on Amazon, I determined it is most definitely meant for young adults, however the young characters allow that fact to be quite misleading.

Again, I had high hopes for Meg Tilly's book and I do think a certain audience would enjoy it, getting past the unnecessary language was just a hurtle I didn't quite get over.

If you're interested in learning more about the book, or to purchase, click on the book cover to link to Amazon.

Porcupine
Meg Tilly
240pages
Young Adult
Tundra Books
September, 2007

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This past weekend Lois Peterson launched her new novel Meeting Miss 405. Congratulations Lois! Read more about this event on her blog. 

On November 4, four Orca authors (Robin Stevenson, Jeff Rud, Sarah Harvey and Meg Tilly) will be reading from and signing their latest books at Bolen Books in the Hillside Mall in Victoria. This is a free public event for readers of all ages.  We’ll make sure to post some pictures of this event on our Facebook page for those of you who aren’t close enough to stop by and say hi. We Promise. 

Interested in learning more about one of the books being launched tomorrow? Times Colonist recently wrote an article here about Meg Tilly’s new book.

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Baby Lamb Finds a Friend by Laura Gates Galvin

• Board book: 16 pages
• Publisher: Soundprints (October 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592497462
• ISBN-13: 978-1592497461

There are not many kids I know who don’t love baby animals…puppies, kittens, tigers, elephants. In fact, whenever there’s a new baby animal at the zoo near us, families come in droves to visit the newest addition, so I think your child will be enchanted with Soundprints’ and the Smithsonian Institute’s lovable Baby Animals Series.

Suitable for preschoolers, this series of board books by Laura Gates Galvin features four stories about different baby animals, including a baby dolphin, a baby koala, a baby duck, and a baby lamb.

Baby Lamb Finds a Friendtells the story of a little lamb who finds a playmate and has a day full of fun. The text is short and simple enough for a preschooler to understand, and the full-color photos of the adorable baby lambs will keep them engaged. The shots are perfectly chosen and make it seem like the little lambs are interacting with you. For example, there is one spread where Baby Lamb’s friend wants to play a game and hides behind the tree. The photo on that page shows a tiny little lamb peeking around a giant tree, looking right at the camera. Other photos feature little lambs playing and sleeping, and the final page features Baby Lamb’s cute little baby lamb behind as he goes home after a long day of fun.

Baby Lamb Finds a Friend would make a perfect addition to your child’s collection, but once you see how much your child love its, you’re going to want the other three books in the Baby Animal series, and at $6.95 a book, you won’t break your budget if you add a new book every now and then.

Other books in Baby Animal series:
Baby Koala and Mommy
Baby Duck Gets Lost
Baby Dolphin’s Busy Day (this title is currently unavailable on amazon. Visit Soundprints for ordering information)

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