As the saying goes, “It takes a village...” This word bucket of a baby would not have been possible without the following folks:

Pollyanna Lee, who birthed this brainchild and allowed me to adopt it and raise it as my own.

Edward English & Melissa Owens English, who found the toddler stuck in a hallway and helped devise its escape.

Sarah Sheikh Bridge, who coaxed the kid from the corner (in which it found itself after getting out of the hallway) and then continued to Rah-Rah! the tyke into adolescence by reading too many drafts, lending her many talents to the creation of the website (and now the printed book), and somehow maintaining an infectious amount of enthusiasm over the span of too many years.

The readers: Tiffany Lee, Pollyanna Lee, Suzi Garner, Nam Yen, Michael Yen, Kathy Graf, Samira McCarthy, Samara Dotson, Alexander Romero, Kira Street, and the Prouds (Chris, Kieu, and Kali)—thank you for taking the time and offering your invaluable thoughts, notes, and encouragement.

Thanks to Julia Lee and Tessa Srebro for early edits to the preview chapters on the website, E.V. Anderson for authorly advice, K Lee for help with website content, and Kit Lam for early illustration feedback.

And to all the family and friends who have fed, housed, and clothed me over the years—particularly the Yens & Luus (who built a room to make space for me and fed me way too much), Corrie Messinger & Pollyanna Lee (who acquired a dwelling with my room all picked out and are still feeding me way too much), and my parents & siblings (who make me feel like I have a home no matter where I may be wandering)—there are not enough words to sufficiently express my gratitude. Thank you for creating a safe space for this little sprout to grow.

*An updated thanks to Stephanie, David, Alex and Alison for allowing me to invade their bubble in these pandemic times. I promise to try to stop eating all your food… Operative word: “try.”