Thank you to the sidewalk pothole in Troy, New York, into which I fell and broke my leg right before San Diego Comic-Con. I had scored a ticket, and really wanted to go, but I was worried—about the leg, the crowds, so many things. Worry is my middle name! So I stayed home and started writing this book instead.
Warmest gratitude to the staff and students at Lake Country School in Hartland, Wisconsin. I volunteered for years at LCS, and it was an absolute privilege. LCS is like a giant family. Two of its many wonderful staff members contributed directly to this story:
Doc, the building and grounds manager. He’s patiently opened milks for kindergarteners probably every day for about twenty years. Doc’s quiet, compassionate, smart, and trustworthy, and prefers life under the radar, so I hope he doesn’t mind that I borrowed his name, and a little bit of his goodness, for this book.
Mr. Peter Kopfhammer, one of the kindest, most well-meaning school principals ever, deserves all the credit for being the original creator of the intruder drill code phrase, “John Lockdown Is in the Building.” That phrase, and the drill along with it, caused some anxiety at our house, even though we completely accept and understand the need to be prepared. Anyhow, thanks for planting that story seed, Mr. K.
Deepest, warmest thanks are owed to amazing editors Jessica MacLeish and Rosemary Brosnan. I cannot believe how lucky I am to have their support. Thanks also to David Curtis, Alison Donalty, Veronica Ambrose, Emily Rader, Alana Whitman, and Mitchell Thorpe, as well as Taylor Martindale Kean at Full Circle Literary for her gracious, ever-cheerful support.
I can hardly believe my luck to have Steve Wolfhard’s ridiculously awesome cover and interior art. He brought Stanley to life! And I would be remiss not to thank fellow author Darcy Miller for suggesting the title of this book, which I think is (probably) perfect!
Finally, thanks to my amazing family, friends, and fellow writers, especially Fred, Alec, Andrew, Steph, Nate, Cindy, David, Judy, Janice, Ona, Abbie, Lynda, Carolyn, Anne, and Merriam. There are many, many more wonderful names—you know who you are, all of you: my superheroes and a force for all the good there is.