Acknowledgments

Thanks for reading! I know there was a lot of garbage in this book, but I hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to get it right, so I actually toured a couple of landfills and spent hours doing trashy research. No, literally, research about trash. I even read an operator’s manual for a garbage truck. But that’s just basic survival knowledge.

Thanks to readers, young and old(er). I love meeting you at schools and book signings. It means a lot when I hear that the series is being enjoyed. Thank you for spreading the books to your friends, neighbors, and families. There’s still a ton of excitement to come in books 4 and 5!

The team at Shadow Mountain continues to do an amazing job with this series. Thanks to Chris Schoebinger for his creativity and efforts on my behalf. Thanks to Heidi Taylor for her encouragement and patience with my barrage of emails. Thanks also to Emily Watts for the superb editing. She has the power to appease the red and green squiggly lines under my sentences.

A big thank you to my agent, Rubin Pfeffer, for his wisdom and expertise. And to Deborah Warren, who manages to support me while keeping East/West Agency running smoothly.

I’m a huge fan of Brandon Dorman’s artwork. He makes Janitors look so awesome! I hope I can actually meet him someday so I can thank him face to face!

Thanks to Erin Summerill for taking my new author photo. She made me look better than I actually do. She even spit-combed an errant hair on my head.

I’ve had so much support from friends and family. I’m so grateful for all of you, for rallying to me time and time again. Your enthusiasm for my projects encourages me and drives me forward!

As always, a special thanks to Connie, for her daily patience with me and my overactive imagination. I wouldn’t be where I am without her.

Thanks to my mom for being the recycle police. Sorting plastics awakened my inner garbologist. And thanks to my dad for always hauling me along on his trips to the landfill. It seemed stinky at the time, but apparently it made an impact!