Are animals out?!?

[oneidii]

Hello fellow Childrens/YA writers, I wonder if the animal story is "out of favor"...have any of you sold books recently that involved animals? I'm not talking about speaking monkeys, or giraffes--rather the Marguerite Henry style, Rascal, My Friend Flicka style books. Any thoughts??
For you see, this is my birdie, and am I worried I am some years too late.

[Inspired]

Granny, I think you have an article dealing with this. Care to share? or give us a link?

Basically, animals will always be a favorite. As with poetry, some people do it well and get published. A lot of people do it poorly (thinking they've done well) and get rejected. If you can use a human instead, then do. If the story needs to have a duck and a giraffe to make it work, then do it. Use what it needs, not just what seems cute and childlike.

[cwgranny]

Well, kids still love animals so animal stories will still find a market but today you see them more as a "sidekick" or a part of a larger story. You won't find so much of the story where the animal and the relationship with it really is the whole story -- but you might see a boy who gets lost in the woods with his cat and the relationship between boy and cat plays a big part in working out the plot. I can't think of a book published today with the total focus on the animal that way Rascal or My Friend Flicka did. I think Because of Winn Dixie is about as close as you get -- with the focus really on the child and the animal merely being another character that is key to the working out of the plot.

You could try asking children's librarians to show you some very recent animal books so you can see how the animals are handled today.

You CAN still do stories that really focus on the animal as magazine pieces these days but the book industry has moved on or at least changed the animal story.

gran

[JoeEkaitis]

My middle reader novel, which will be out this Christmas or next, features a griffin who ghost-writes myth and legend novels, a dragon who paints murals and a bear who drives a Chevy Suburban.

Maybe the publisher and I just don't know any better. :)

[rich]

I don't do children's stories, as yet, but I do see the family pet as more in the center of things than ever, ever before. This also translates into all other transient beings--wild or domestic. We now have a TV show called Animal Planet, which I believe is on 24/7. And yet even the History Channel, a subject seemingly glutted with things to say, delutes its broadcast with hours of early morning hour-long infommercials.

Write a good animal story. If you build it....

[rich]

"Transient?" Please, please, read "sentient."

[cwgranny]

I don't think she was asking whether you'll see stories with animals (or fantasy with animal main characters) -- both of those are doing just fine. She was asking specifically about the My Friend Flicka, Rascal, Ring of Bright Water, Misty, etc etc type books which were incredibly popular when I was a kid and for quite a few years before and after. They've fallen out of favor -- really. With a real life animal, you not must have a human who actually holds center stage unless you're going for fantasy or humor (and even with humor, you usually see strong fantasy elements such as you'll find in James Howe's books and the Babe type books -- I can't think of the author's name off the top of my head.)

Nonfiction about animals still sells very well, though not every publisher believes there is a need for more of it. But a fiction book of the pure "Let's focus on this real life animal in a documentary-esque way only with a healthy dose of emotional personification" -- if you guys are seeing it in novel length work, I would love to hear examples because I'm not. I'd be open to reading titles like that if you can come up with some -- I am always capable of being wrong. But mentioning fantasy and nonfiction doesn't mean reality-based animal-focused fiction is back in vogue.

gran

[Inspired]

I was thinking of magazine articles. Sorry.

What about the series books like Animal Ark and the Pony Pal books?

They're for the early chapter book crowd, but definitely focus on animals. I think they're in a realistic manner. My older daughter has read a bunch of them.

[oneidii]

Hi everyone, sorry for taking so long to respond...a) in Germany and b) trying to get everything moved from one city to another.

I meant exactly what CWGranny said in two emails above...those books, the type, the feel...I don't really find that in any books nowadays. I had thought maybe the publishers had gone on to a new fad, or this type of book is "out", but that's okay. Fantasy about wizards was pretty much out before Harry Potter, so that is proof things can change.

I was just pretty stunned to be looking for new books in that category in YA, and find nothing...Pretty shocking, really.

Thank you all for your replies.

[Vipersniper]

:Hug2: No animals are very much in and in the stories that I read my god children they like all the ones with animals in them. I read some fine stories by an author named SmoochieGirl who really does well with her stories about animals.