The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City
Page 20
The initial inspiration for this book was Ellie, an actual piglet that was the runt of a litter, and the story of how my brother, Rich, saved her life and brought her home from college (the Columbus Dispatch even wrote an article about our family and Ellie back in 1994). Thank you to Ellie; Rich; my sisters, Renda, C, and Leslee; my parents, Richard and Carol; and all the extended family, too, for the variety of ways you’ve supported my creative endeavors. And a big heartfelt thank-you to the Kendalls—Glenn, Donna Jean, Pam, Deb, and the whole crew—for your love and encouragement through the years.
To the National Geographic Channel Digital Media Team, past and present—Matt, Brad, Skye, Alison, Leslee, Ashley, Meghan—thank you for nurturing my writing career in its early stages, and for letting me share about Ellie the Pig on the Nat Geo Wild platform. Thank you to Dr. Steen Bech-Nielsen, the veterinarian who cared for Ellie back in the day when he was Professor in Public Health and Swine Disease at the Ohio State University, for recounting your pig examinations to me via email so many years later, from half a world away. Enormous appreciation goes out to Club Champion Gymnastics in Pasadena, California, for allowing me spend time with a Level 5 team, and thank you to former gymnasts Theresa Galbo and Ashley Ludwig for feedback on gymnastics scenes.
I owe tremendous gratitude to Molly O’Neill, who nurtured the narrative of Hamlet and Josie in its infancy. Thank you to illustrator Katy Betz and Storybird for providing a very early version of this story with a platform and beautiful community. And an outpouring of love for E. B. White—thank you for writing Charlotte’s Web, which will always be one of my all-time favorite books. It still gives me goose bumps that our two pig books share a publishing home.
Many scenes from this book were written and revised on the road. Thank you to Muscoot Farm in Westchester County, New York, for permitting me to hang out with the pigs. Big thanks to Petunia the Pig at M3 Acres and the Mulieri family in Redding, Connecticut, for letting me film and photograph Petunia’s behaviors (and all those piglet hugs, too). And cheers to Tusk & Cup Fine Coffee in Ridgefield, Connecticut, for fueling me with bagels and coffee during my year of revising this book.
To the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, I was forever changed when I joined your membership a decade ago. This is important work, and I’m eternally grateful to be a part of such a wonderful, welcoming organization.
To my Write Nite ladies—Kim Liggett, Bridget Casey, Kristi Olson, Bess Cozby, Rebecca Behrens, Gabriela Pereira, and Michelle Schusterman, with an extra hug to my long-time SCBWI critique group partners, Alexandra Alger, Gina Carey, and Ghenet Myrthil—thank you for the community. Special thanks to Kate Messner for answering a variety of questions during my debut year, to Jay Asher for your encouragement through the years, and my agent sister Dana Langer for your friendship.
To the Class of 2K17, other 2017 debuts, and the YA Muses, thank you for the privilege of being part of your ranks.
As a child of God, thank you to Jesus Christ my Savior for loving me and saving me by grace alone. To my Redeemer MMG and WMG ladies, your perspective is a wonderful reminder of what’s truly important in this world. Big hugs to my oily community, #TheGoldenDropSociety, Lesley Graham, Ashley Cribb, and Heather O’Dell. I’m honored to call you dear friends (and I’m forever in your debt because, Peace & Calming).
I’m lucky to have a wonderful circle of friends. So much love for Meghan Barbieri, Erika Baylor, Karina Kuhary, Amanda Goetz, Jeannine Williams, Rebecca Smith, Emily Williams, Charlotte Addison, Heidi Browne, Jamie Chaft, Heather Linden, Meredith Stinnett, Jenica Patterson, Holly Marfani, Jennie Major, Meredith Maclaine, Julie Hanson, Vicky Roh, Lauren Oursler, Lisa Brininstool, Andrea Kwiatkowski, Adrienne Langbauer, and Emily Borell—thank you for all the encouragement.
To Leslee, I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thank you for being my first reader since the beginning, and for never doubting that all my wild, ambitious writing dreams could come true. This book is for you.
To Bobby, thank you for all the times you’ve listened to me brainstorm, read my early drafts, sent me off on surprise writing retreats, bought me books, cheered on my successes, acted as my pocket thesaurus, loved me despite my many, many flaws, and lifted my spirits from the sadness of failure. I love you forever. I couldn’t have done this without you. 24601.
To Townes and Lennox, I love you both so much. I hope this story makes you proud of your old mom.
To my readers, thank you for opening up this book and spending time with Josie, Hamlet, Lucy, Mrs. Taglioni, Dr. Stern, all the Shillings, and the Three Stoops crew. I hope you enjoyed it. You, dear reader, are why I wanted to become a children’s book author. Thank you for allowing me the best job in the world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo credit Heidi Browne
JODI KENDALL grew up in the Midwest with her family of seven and their household of countless pets, including hamsters, ducks, dogs, rabbits, an iguana, and, yes . . . even a farm pig! As a freelance writer, Jodi once followed a secret nighttime transport of a manta ray over state lines, swam with seven species of sharks, got up close and personal with venomous snakes, and motored through a saltwater crocodile breeding ground. These days, you can find Jodi typing away at home in New York City, where she’s still an animal lover at heart. Jodi holds an MFA from the University of Arizona and is an active member of SCBWI. This is her first novel. Visit Jodi online at www.jodikendall.com.
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CREDITS
Cover art by Pascal Campion
Cover design by David Curtis
COPYRIGHT
THE UNLIKELY STORY OF A PIG IN THE CITY. Copyright © 2017 by Jodi Kendall. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2017943444
ISBN 978-0-06-248453-6
EPub Edition © September 2017 ISBN 9780062484550
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FIRST EDITION
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