October's Agent of the Month - Janine Le from the Sheldon Fogelman Agency

Janine Le

Sheldon Fogelman Agency

Janine Le joined the Sheldon Fogelman Agency in 2010 and continues to assist in rights, contracts, and accounting as she expands the list of clients with whom she works. She enjoys the balance of creative-minded and business-minded work and knew she had found her niche in the field when she interned at an agency and realized the agent is the author's biggest advocate. Janine graduated from Bucknell University with honors in English (Creative Writing) and completed NYU's Summer Publishing Institute. She is accepting submissions for fiction and narrative nonfiction picture books through YA. She has served as faculty for SCBWI events and is also open to conference opportunities.

What She Wants:

Across the board:

  • stories and illustrations with emotional resonance!
  • originality (unique twists, fresh styles/approaches)
  • great voice (we see through a distinct point of view that draws the reader in)
  • engaging writing (rich sensory details, puns, or interactivity that add to the story)
  • like poetry, I love when form matches content in all genres
  • swift reads (compelling voice, well-paced plots rather than non-stop action. Shorter book/chapter word counts)
  • writers and artists who take their craft seriously and wow with revisions
  • diverse perspectives (BIPOC, Latinx, disabled, chronically ill, neurodiverse, immigrant, refugee, adoptee, multiracial, religious minority, LGBTQIA, etc.)

Some particular interests:

  • joyful stories (though I always welcome tough subjects, I'd like to see more joy in my inbox)
  • contemporary (romance, adventure, coming-of-age)
  • historical featuring less common settings
  • fantastic elements (surrealism, magical realism, mythology, mysticism rather than high fantasy or hard sci-fi)
  • narrative non-fiction, including subjects that broaden children's views on science & culture (especially story-driven)
  • novels-in-verse
  • well-developed secondary characters (glimpses of each character having their own story)
  • humor that doesn't rely on gags or the protagonist being the butt of the joke
  • complex relationships (characters navigating hurdles in friendships/dating/family relations rather than always-the-loner stories or characters who accept abuse)

For illustrators:

  • expressive characters
  • visual narratives
  • styles that are softer yet bright & vivid
  • strong use of light and shading, texture, backgrounds, layouts
  • professional artists crossing into kidlit
  • author-illustrated picture book dummies and graphic novel proposals

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FIRST PAGE RESULTS WITH JANINE LE:

 

The Magic of Kindness // PB // by Sara Kruger

Maggie longed to be a magician.

"ABRACADABRA" she shouted at breakfast, but her oatmeal refused to turn into sugar cookies.

When she was playing with her toys, she made up the most clever spell: 

Rainbows and stars

Become a new car 

but her ratty old stuffy did not transform into the mini electric truck she wanted so much.

At school, she yelled "ALAKALA ABADABA!" but her worksheet stubbornly stayed a worksheet. It did not change into a balloon and float away. [worksheet says "draw pictures of 10 things you're grateful for" and Maggie has drawn a picture of her mom making oatmeal]

Maggie seemed destined to remain common.

One morning, Maggie came downstairs just as her mom was stirring brown sugar into her oatmeal. 

"Thank you," she said as she sat down.

And her mom stirred in another spoonful.

Maggie was delighted to discover the oatmeal tasted just a bit like sugar cookies.

While waiting to leave for the bus, Maggie played with her brother.

"Good job!" she said when he made a tower taller than he was.

He giggled and let her play with his remote control car.

At school, the new girl cried when her mom left, just like she had the day before. 

Maggie wanted to make her feel better but didn't know how, so she just said, "I like your scarf."

And the new girl smiled and helped Maggie with her worksheet.

In art, Maggie's fruit bowl wasn't coming out right. She looked at a classmate's.

"That's beautiful," she said.

He offered a tip, and when Maggie tried it, her pear looked juicy enough to eat.

On the walk home, another classmate dropped a stack of books.

"Let me help," she said, and a couple other kids helped, too.

The boy told a joke, and they all laughed.

And the moment felt magical.

HERE IS JANINE:

This is a really sweet story! I like how the spells Maggie tries are mirrored in the magic that comes back to her by way of kindness. I'm not sure how much of the story we're missing here, but it feels almost complete in terms of arc. However, I don't think the magical moment is landing for me quite as well as it could. I might have liked to see these later interactions with her brother and classmates set up in the portion of the story where Maggie's trying to use spells to make magic. For example, could we see the little girl crying at drop off the day before in scene? How does Maggie react the first time? What changes to make her start practicing kindness?

*******

 

Kirsty Rorke  –   Warning! Magic Bauble  –  Picture book

If you find an old box in the attic, tied tightly with tinsel and covered in writing, you might feel curious.

Warning: DO NOT touch the box.

Magical Christmas decorations are nothing but T-R-O-U-B-L-E !

Opening a box that says…

[Art note:        Danger                        Magic Bauble                         Do NOT open!]

...may seem like a good idea.

It isn't.

DO NOT

open

the...

Oops.

Too late.

The bauble will rush to the kitchen to make gingerbread.

You may imagine the bauble is a talented baker. It is magic after all.

Warning: This is not the case.

Whatever happens DO NOT let the bauble near your…

...flour.            [Art note: Bauble spreads flour everywhere.]

After the bauble has finished making 'snow', it will want to help untangle the fairy lights.

Warning: DO NOT let the bauble touch your lights.

You may think it can't make as much mess as it did with baking.

This is wrong. (Also, your dog will be EXTREMELY grumpy).

[Art note: Dog tied up in badly tangled fairy lights.]

HERE IS JANINE:

There's always potential for fun reader interaction with a "don't turn the page" premise, and a naughty magic bauble is intriguing. What's missing for me is the motivation. Why, besides that we're reading a book, does the reader want to open the box? Why would they imagine the bauble is a talented baker or that it was a good idea to let it touch the lights? I would have liked to see a little push and pull of the bauble winning our trust and intrigue rather than being pure chaos. In terms of pacing, I felt it went a line too long on the warnings and that the interactions once the bauble is released felt rushed and could use more fleshing out.

*******

THE IDEAL DOG   Suzanne Morrone     Contemporary MG 

The corridor is so white and slick and clean, I imagine I'm an atom, shooting down the long clear tube of a particle accelerator. My trajectory is straight out of here, back to my own life. Back to Blueberry. I can almost smell his fur, feel his paw as he hits me, demanding I throw his ball. Being with him is the opposite of being here. I imagine the tickle of his whiskers, and smile. I've forgotten, for the moment, that the point of hurtling an atom at super-sonic speeds is to smash it to smithereens.

Grandpa once told me that like the atom, things in life can shatter apart, and in the end it can turn out to be the best thing for you. But that's not how it seemed to me when I ruined our vacation by falling and knocking myself out. My newest freak accomplishment.

The hallway hisses under the glide of the wheelchair and light reflects off every shiny surface. "Sir, really, I can walk. I'm ok."

Antiseptic smells fight with the cloud of aftershave hovering around the volunteer pushing me, an old man scent reminding me of Grandpa. He's about 400 years older than Grandpa though, and I'm worried pushing me will be the last thing he ever does because we aren't really going at supercollider speed. Sloth speed is more like it.

"Hospital rules," he croaks.

Mom pats my shoulder. "We're almost out of here, Nick. Just a few more minutes." Her way of saying it'll be okay. She knows there are snakes twirling in my stomach, and the one thing that calms them down is Blueberry.

My little sister, Lucy, lags behind as usual, since she thinks being seen with me is like having a bucket of cooties poured over her. Cooties were big in second grade, but she is almost in third grade now. I'm hoping cooties are just a phase.

HERE IS JANINE:

The opening paragraph is very strong! I love when story is filtered through a character's unique knowledge/interests to build a really engaging and authentic voice. I begin to lose that momentum halfway down the page though. I'm wondering why we need to know so much about the old man pushing him down the hall and if this character would really know about aftershave or think/joke about the man being over 400 years old. Might the reader learn more from seeing Mom push Nick down the hall? I'm also wondering how old Nick is and wouldn't he know that cooties are indeed just a phase? Do siblings really think of each other as having cooties, since that tends to be more flirtatious?  Even if so, could we learn more about Nick from Lucy being embarrassed about something more specific?

*******

Betsy Devany    MAYBE ONE DAY        picture book     contemporary/fiction

Trunk lives at The Yellow Balloon.

From his shelf he watches kids come and go.

Please pick me, he thinks. Elephants make loyal friends.

But always—always—Trunk is left behind.

While the register chimes for a different toy.

"One day you will find a home," says Miss Rosy.

Maybe, thinks Trunk.

At night, Trunk dreams of his Maybe One Day.

Down the block, Tilly also dreams.

She dreams of having her own room again.

And a special friend to share it with.

One afternoon, Tilly spots The Yellow Balloon.

"Can we go in?" Tilly asks.

"Only to look," says Mama. "Today is not a buying day."

"But maybe it's a hope day," says Tilly. [Notices HELP WANTED sign in window.]

While Mama talks with Miss Rosy, Tilly explores the toy store.

Past the dolls, past the trains, she finds the stuffed animals.

Right away, Trunk notices Tilly.

Please pick me, he thinks.

Standing on her tippy toes, Tilly sweeps Trunk off his shelf and into her arms.

"You look like you need a home too," she whispers.

But today is not a buying day.

So with a wilted wave, Tilly leaves Trunk behind.

HERE IS JANINE:

There's a lot of good meat here emotionally, with the hope and longing and needs of both Trunk and Tilly. However, it feels like too much of this is being told in the first pages, rather than shown, making the characters feel too generic. In order to stand out from other similar stories, I'd like to see more character development so the reader can really connect with them and their longings. Perhaps give us a bit longer to get to know Trunk and his particular quirks, and then Tilly before they're drawn together. In particular, most children have at least one stuffie, so I'm wanting to know why this child has so little.

******* 

 

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy