Acknowledgements

I’d like to thank everyone at Bloomsbury Children’s Books who has looked after me these last few years, with special thanks to Ellen Holgate, who originally introduced me to the Bloomsbury family. I don’t think readers realise just how many people work so hard behind the scenes to turn a writer’s idea into a thing of paper that can be bought and borrowed and read. A film always has a long list of credits at its end and I think books should have the same sort of thing, so here goes:

THE SMIDGENS UNITED

A Bloomsbury Children’s Books Production

David O’Connell – Writer

Seb Burnett – Illustrator

Lucy Mackay-Sim – Commissioning Editor

Zöe Griffiths – Editorial Director

Jadene Squires – Editorial Assistant

Juliette Rechatin – Designer

Fliss Stevens – Managing Editor

Jessica White – copy-editor

Anna Swan – proofreader

Emily Marples – Senior Publicity Manager

Isi Tucker – Publicity Assistant

Jearl Boatswain – Children’s Campaign Assistant

Michael Young – Production Manager

Finally, to all the booksellers, librarians and teachers who work so hard getting books into children’s hands – thank you! You do a brilliant job.