From Leonard S. Marcus' interview with Jean Feiwel (children's book publisher)in Horn Book :
LSM: You once summed up your editorial philosophy in the words "blind/orphan/pony." What exactly did you mean by that, and has the mantra changed?
JF: It still holds up pretty well. "Blind" refers to children's empathy for the bad things that happen in life. "Orphan" we know is one of the great categories of hero in the literature. And "pony" stands for all the animal stories, stories of animals in jeopardy, to which children respond so strongly. To that extent, I am a fan of tried-and-true themes. I should probably add "friend" to the list.
Ms. Feiwel has been in children's book publishing more than 30 years. She was an editor at Scholastic and was responsible for several popular series, including The Babysitters Club, Goosebumps, and Harry Potter. The interview is worth reading in its entirety: HB September 2009 issue, pages 465-478.
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