It takes a village to make a book. Mine starts with Howard Reeves, my editor for our fourth book together. His questions, curiosity, enthusiasm, and support have made me a better writer. Thanks, too, to Pamela Notarantonio for her striking design, which brings alive the images and the text. Editorial assistant Masha Gunic deftly handled the continual flow of drafts, emails, and the rare bit of snail mail. Orlando Dos Reis, assistant editor, made excellent suggestions to enliven the book.
I am grateful to managing editor James Armstrong, who dealt with what sometimes seemed like endless editorial changes with speed and grace. Copyeditor Renée Cafiero and fact-checker David M. Webster are expert at improving accuracy and nuance. I appreciate the production work of Kathy Lovisolo and the marketing skill of Jason Wells and Nicole Russo, as well as the efforts of the sales team and all the other folks at Abrams.
Many thanks to Peggy Wagner, who was writing a book on the United States in World War I for adults. Our conversations and her thoughtful insights inspired me to write this one for children. Ray Skean and I have been exchanging books and encouraging each other’s interest in World War I for years. His remarkable collection of primary sources and memorabilia were invaluable in developing my ideas.
I am also grateful to Athena Angelos for sharing the wealth of World War I images she had researched and making it possible for me to include them. Friends and Library of Congress colleagues Susan Reyburn, Aimee Hess Nash, and Peter Devereaux also helped with images and have been a cheering section for my work for years.
Special thanks to my husband, Bob; my daughter, Catherine; and my daughter-in-law, Mary Kate Hurley. They spend endless hours willingly listening to every story and fact I have to tell. And, as always, thanks to my son, Nick, a professor of American history, for guiding me, reading and carefully editing my manuscript, and understanding how exciting it is to love and learn about history.