How to use this Page

CLICK HERE
to answer Kevin's poll for yourself.

Kevin's questions are ones we all want answered. And, clicking
to see how the majority of answers stack up beside ours is
both informative and fun. You will see that illustrating children's books
is only one of Kevin's talents. . .

However there were two questions I could not answer.

#1 -
Children love books about dogs and cats. Which animal, however,
is your child most likely to read a book about?

We are a family of animal lovers - ALL of them. At one time we had 7 cats, 3 dogs, a parrot + a budgie, 3 pygmy goats ( great lawnmowers if you stake them away from your shrubs and flowers), countless guinea pigs - also great lawnmowers when moved around within the confines of a large chicken wire surround. We also had tens of thousands of tropical fish and goldfish ( my husband's business) and wild deer, skunks, possums, hummingbirds and squirrels galore! How could I ever choose between cats and dogs for my POV characters?

And remember, some of my books feature platypus, Tasmanian devils
and grizzly bears - Kevin, have a heart, mate!!!

The other poll question I did not answer was equally perplexing:

#2 -
In YA novels, which of the four topics below in the content of a book make you feel the most uncomfortable and should be featured the least

*Domestic violence.
*Sexual situations.
*Inappropriate language.
*Implied or direct substance abuse.

Regrettably, all four of the above are a major part of many teen's daily lives. If you want to spice up your plot, or write characters who might have more teen appeal, my suggestion is strengthen your plot, and make your characters richer: more real and appealing. Adding any of the above four elements, as a HOOK to draw in readers, is dirty pool in my book.

However, if you are writing about circumstances and young characters that have these situations in their lives, and are struggling to be free of them, then by all means use words that paint a clear and damning picture of what these teens face. Life's realities are often far from "nice." A book that shows that a child can find help, can escape predators, and can turn away from bad things, is a wonderful and important way to help young people who face different degrees of torment, and are desperate to move in another direction.

So you see, I could not choose any one of the bad scenarios above as one I would not use in a book, due to my own discomfort or disapproval. In fact, if a book I wrote helped some teen find the courage to leave a bad situation behind, and begin a better life, then I would be glad and proud of any words or scenes I wrote, that helped him/her make that wise decision.

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This is not only a survey where your vote counts, but also serves as an online resource for individuals in the YA, tween and children's book market to view the results on various topics to sharpen their own custom marketing strategies.

( Your comments are very welcome)

My Website <> <> "Musings"

A panel from a little comic I drew recently.