Enormous thanks to my agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin, for enthusiastically embracing The Dollar Kids when it was little more than an ember. You carefully tended this story — simultaneously fanning it and containing it — as needed. Your editorial and professional guidance has been invaluable. Thanks also to Meagan Cohen, Alyssa’s assistant.

Thanks to my husband, Don O’Grady, who introduced me to East Millinocket and patiently answered my 1,265 questions. I have loved getting to know your hometown! Thanks, too, to my grown children and stepchildren, who were willing to grapple with logistical, philosophical, and political questions as they related to this story.

Thank you to my readers Mary Atkinson, Jane Kurtz, and Holly Jacobson for your insightful feedback. You know how much I depend on your knowledge of story, your deepest reactions, and your analytical superpowers. (I never tire of your input.)

Thanks to my friend Frank Crosby, who shared his knowledge, literature, and videos on the Millinocket region. And thanks to (then) fifth-grader Audrey Murray, who taught me about “left foot day.”

Huge thanks go to my brilliant editor, Kaylan Adair, who in asking all the right questions in all the right ways led me to create a richer, more connected world. You have been my cheerleader, my writing coach, and my editor extraordinaire. I know how lucky I am to have you as a creative partner.

And thanks to the rest of the Candlewick tribe: Mary Lee Donovan, Hayley Parker, Sherry Fatla, Jessica Saint Jean, Chris Paul, Angie Dombroski, Kate Schwartz, Maggie Deslaurier, Emily Quill, K. B. Mello, Jamie Tan, Susan Batcheller, Katie Ring, and Kathleen Rourke, who helped design, publish, and promote this book. You rock!

Finally, thanks to the incredibly talented Ryan Andrews, whose art makes the heart of this story beat brighter.