Acknowledgments

My first thanks is to Wayne Pickering. As our family historian, he willingly shares his research with me and provided the seeds that blossomed into the characters in Mrs. Fradette’s stories. Harvey Holds His Own is very loosely based on my maternal grandma’s family history. I’ve borrowed real names and locations. I thought of my grandma, Marie Pickering, a lot as I wrote this story. I’m so grateful for the time I had with her as a child.

A very special thank you to Arlene Nelson, who passed away before this book was finished. Her stories about ‘Bambi,’ the deer she found and cared for, were the inspiration for Mrs. Fradette and Peggy.

My next round of thanks goes to the Pajama Press team: To Ann Featherstone for being a superb editor. To Erin Alladin, Lorena Gonzalez Guillen, and Laura Bowman who edit, design, promote, and ensure the book reaches its full potential. Special thanks to Erin who came up with the title! Thank you to Rebecca Bender for another brilliant cover and to Chandra Wohleber for her finely tuned copyediting skills.

There are others who have helped me with this book: Cindy Kochanski who read and commented on an early draft; Jeanne Brault who unknowingly inspired the character of Mrs. Fradette (she was Canada’s first certified female mechanic); and Richard Jones of the website Old Classic Car for helping me with research.

It might come as a surprise to you that Harvey’s illustrator Tara Anderson and I have never met. It amazes me that she is able to bring the Harvey in my head to life in her drawings. The book is so much better because of your talent, Tara!

Finally, thank you to Gail Winskill who is a champion to Harvey and to me. I am so lucky to have you in my corner.