I am thankful to God for the gifts he gives and the ability to use and enjoy them.
Thank you to my group of young contributors who helped brainstorm ideas for Hailee’s “List of Things I Need” and for their thoughts on the life of a sixth grader: Brooke Haworth, Zachary Haworth, Matthew Haworth, Allie Furnari, Caroline Furnari, Jack Bennett, and Alexandra Eugster. Also, thank you to Benton Wood, the most colorful and dynamic Little League coach I’ve seen since my own father commanded the dugout.
Ted Malawer, as always, and special thanks to Michelle Carr and Steve Haworth for reading the manuscript with great care and thought and giving me honest feedback.
I like to give my editor her own paragraph because I want her to know how much I appreciate her talent. Stacy Cantor Abrams helps me write a better book. I am grateful to work with Stacy and all the people at Walker Books.
And I’m especially grateful to you—the reader—because here I am typing this and there you are reading this, and without you, none of us would be here.