This book would not exist if Diane Gilleland hadn’t taken my casual question about a tiny hint of an idea and run with it straight to her agent. That Kate McKean then agreed to represent me is one of the shiniest joys of my life. Thank you, Diane and Kate, for your support and friendship, and for challenging me to always be clearer and do better.

Gary Luke and the team at Sasquatch Books are wonderful humans who love books. With precision and enthusiasm, they pushed me to sculpt and nudge this one into shape. Michelle Hope Anderson, Sarah Hanson, Haley Stocking, Lisa Hay, and Kate Reingold, especially—thank you for all you do. Kate Bingaman-Burt’s illustrations make my heart—and this book—sing.

Big love to the various coffee shops of Vancouver’s deep West Side, and to CBC Radio One. The Vancouver Public Library was, as were the libraries of my youth, a stalwart companion.

To my preschool friends: thank you for cheering me on as I wrote and as we undertook potty training—both seemed like impossible challenges at times, and both were eased by your support. To my beloved crafty friends from near and far, your enthusiasm for Mighty Ugly and your unflagging belief that I could pull this off kept me going when the going was tough, and make me smile the rest of the time. To my dearest family and friends: I love you. Thank you for keeping it weird with me.

And to Greg, who held down the fort when I was working at night and through the weekend, so very many nights and weekends; for listening to me read aloud; for your belief in me; and for giving the best hugs in the world. And to Owen: yes, Mama’s book is all done now.