From: Eleanora E. Tate <eetate>
Date: Thu, 13 Nov 1997 12:02:41 -0600

At 05:38 PM 11/11/97 PST, you wrote:

I asked my original question in light of a hissy fit some unpublished writers had in an internet discussion group when I suggested that they always check publisher guidelines, since some publishers do not accept
"talking animal" manuscripts. Wow :-o! They had all kinds of reasoning why publishers should and cried and complained and implied that I was wrong. I received another e-mail, however, that confirmed my comments. It's when the animals talk to humans that can give more publishers concerns, and I know that a number of religious markets don't accept them at all. Again, it merely depends upon the publisher -- and more so, I think, on the quality of the work. I've never heard of a talking meteor, but this was a non-fiction piece, I assume, that you're talking about. I like the belief that children learn what is real and what isn't, which makes the big A easier to accept. I guess what I can't stand is "poorly written" talking animal books, written because naive folks think children's books are easy to write. For the first time I've included two stories in my new collection, Don't Split the Pole: Tales of Down-Home Wisdom (Delacorte), in which animals talk to each other. It got a starred review in Publishers Weekly, high praise from Kirkus, and a critical review (and a mention of the anthropomorphism) in School Library Journal, which usually is very supportive of my work. So perhaps it was the reviewer's personal concern. I personally think she missed much of the point of the book itself, but that's okay, too. Some of my other books are The Secret of Gumbo Grove, Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!, Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School, Just an Overnight Guest, and Retold African Myths (which is an education book by Perfection Learning.

Eleanora E. Tate, Author Morehead City, NC
















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Received on Thu 13 Nov 1997 12:02:41 PM CST