Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence
BY Sonja Thomas Aladdin2022Query Letter
Summer of 1995 is officially wack for eleven-year-old scientist Mira Williams. Her father loses his job. Her science experiment causes a power outage. But the worst, her best friend Thomas moves a billion and one miles away from Florida to Washington, DC.
Mira’s summer goes from wack to disastrous when her cat Sir Fig Newton starts acting weird—Hershey breath, desert thirst and a shrinking appetite. As the world’s greatest scientist, she uses her investigative skills to determine that Fig has the new cat-killer: diabetes. Unfortunately, Mira’s parents can’t afford the treatment. When she needs him the most, Thomas chooses his new friend over her. It’ll take Mira’s scientific expertise, her spunk, and help from her one-time nemesis if she hopes to save Sir Fig Newton.
SIR FIG NEWTON & THE GREATEST SCIENTIST THAT EVER LIVED (after Einstein, of course), a middle grade novel at 49,500 words, explores friendship, loss and faith. Like Mira, I’m bi-racial and a cat aficionado who struggled with the many difficulties when one of my cats was diagnosed with feline diabetes. According to your Twitter feed you’re actively seeking middle grade fiction with an interest in Own Voices.
I’m an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and a 2009 graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature. My YA fantasy, MG science-fiction, and young reader short stories have been published, respectively, in the anthologies Dark Heart Volume 2 (2014), the 2015 Young Explorer’s Adventure Guide, and Oregon Reads Aloud (2016). I was the 2016 Oregon Literary Arts fellowship recipient for The Edna L. Holmes Fellowship in Young Readers Literature for an earlier version of this manuscript.
Per your submission guidelines, please find the first chapter attached. This is a simultaneous submission.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
About
Age Range
Middle Grade
Genre
Contemporary Fiction
Book Link
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Sir-Fig-Newton-and-the-Science-of-Persistence/Sonja-Thomas/
Agent
Ronald Gerber
Query Stats
Number of Queries Sent
16
Number of Full Requests Received
4
Number of Months Spent Querying This Novel
Less than a month
Years Spent Writing Before Getting an Offer
15
Number of Manuscripts Queried Before This One
2
Publication Status of The Book Queried
Published (Big 5)
Years Spent Writing Before This Book was Published
17