As this is the last book in the Jaguar Stones series and our last chance to thank everyone who’s helped us, we’d like to start by thanking you.
Yes, YOU.
Whether you’ve read one Jaguar Stones book or all of them, thank you for coming with us on this wild ride. We’ve loved traveling with you and we hope you’ll stay in touch. (You can always find us through our Web site.)
Huge thanks too to our agent, Daniel Lazar; to our editor, Alison Weiss, and everyone at Egmont USA, especially Bonnie Cutler, Margaret Coffee, Georgia Morrissey, and Michelle Bayuk; also to Elizabeth Baer, Sam Hadley, and Arlene Goldberg; and to Elizabeth Law, who made it all happen.
In the world of Maya archaeology, we’re indebted to the mighty Marc Zender for his mind-boggling expertise; to marine archaeologist Heather McKillop for introducing us to the possibilities of 3-D printing; to the memory of George Stuart, Maya scholar, storyteller, gentleman, and real-life Indiana Jones; and to all the archaeologists, guides, and Maya people who’ve so generously shared their knowledge and experiences with us.
Thank you to all the wonderful booksellers, librarians, and teachers we’ve worked with along the way, especially Jill Moore of Square Books Junior, and Liza Barnard and Penny McConnel from the Norwich Bookstore.
Thank you so much to Judith Lafitte and Tom Lowenburg of Octavia Books and Elizabeth Kahn of Patrick Taylor Academy for masterminding our research in New Orleans (which included taking us on a creepy after-midnight tour of levees and old cemeteries, and scouring the streets of the French Quarter to find the perfect house for Baron Saturday). Thank you to Kenny Brechner of DDG Booksellers in Maine for inspiring the submarine storyline; thank you to Mary Magavern Sachsse, Christy Coverdale Voelkel, and Kate Messner for helping us compile our lesson plans and reading guides; and thank you to Donald Kreis for teaching us about baseball.
A big shout-out to our Jaguar Stones club members and our crack team of middle-school reviewers: Kayla Begin, Ben Gwilt, Bill and Sally Hodgkinson, Brandon Rosa, Sammy Spector, and Bailey Steele—plus Beth Reynolds and all her rapacious readers at the Norwich Public Library; to Loulou Voelkel for her stubborn and very wise advice on the naming of this book; to Eddie Case, Stephanie Kilgore, Brandi Stewart, Faith Hochhalter, and the Club Read kids at Changing Hands bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, for helping us choose the final title.
Lastly, to our three amazing children, thank you for all the adventures. (And sorry about all the bug bites.)