ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

If it hadn’t been for some heart finds of my own, this book would still be an unfinished draft. In 2019, I was working on an unlikely friendship story between a grandparent and a girl who struggled to connect with her peers, but I couldn’t quite get the story to work. Then I came across a video (posted by my wonderful editor) showing members of Abbington Senior Living performing a dance routine to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and I knew what was missing—not just a single scene but a bigger sense of community and the idea of finding joy in unexpected places. So firstly, thank you to those seniors for bringing me joy that day and providing the thread that eventually helped me tie this story together. Traci Tullius and Katrina Muir, I’m convinced that stories of your grampa had nestled somewhere in my subconscious and slowly developed over the years into what was the original seed idea for this book. So, thank you, both—not so much for the idea, but for making me feel like a part of the Tullius family. Collomia Charles, Gigi Collins, Ellen Mulholland, and Siva Ramakrishnan, without the four of you this book would not be here; your early feedback gave this story and its author the boost they both needed. I’m forever indebted to my agent, Kaitlyn Johnson, who read an early draft in a single afternoon and convinced me it wasn’t, as Mabel might say, a dud. I couldn’t do it without you and your support! Samantha Gentry, editor extraordinaire, with each round of edits your input made this story so much better. To get to work with you on another book was a dream come true, and I hope there are many more to come! Thank you to cover designer Karina Granda and illustrator Oriol Vidal, who together created a cover that once again brought me to tears the first time I saw it and brought Mabel and Abner, Oklahoma, to life. I’m so grateful to the entire team at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, with special thanks to Marisa Finkelstein, Jane Cavolina, Olivia Davis, Bill Grace, Mara Brashem, Hannah Klein, and Christie Michel. Last but far from least, a huge thank-you to my family, who listened to me both complain and rejoice through each step of this whole process and did so with kindness, love, and patience. I love you, Chris, Owen, Sam, and Henry.