Umberland

by Wendy Spinale

  To Ed Westmoreland and the staff at Eddie Papa’s, thank you for the office space (the high-top table near the few outlets). And for letting me come back after I accidently dined and ditched that one time. By the way, I tipped 25 percent when I came back to pay the bill.

  I had no idea how many cogs in the big publishing machine it took to bring a book together. Again, my rock stars at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency and Scholastic have done an amazing job in contributing to the creation of another beautiful book.

  My incredible agent, Thao Le, and the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency team members, Andrea Cavallaro and Jennifer Kim—where would I be without my Dream Team? Words will never express how much I appreciate all that you do for me.

  Jody Corbett, my beautimous (Yes, this is a word! Just go with it!) editor at Scholastic, can I just keep you forever and ever? I’m eternally grateful for the ways you push me to create a better story, even when my stubborn Irish Italian side wants to dig my steampunk boot heels in. The Everland series wouldn’t be as special as it is without you.

  Where do I start with the rest of my fantastic team at Scholastic? Thank you doesn’t seem to say enough. My appreciation goes out to the sales team, including Elizabeth Whiting, Alexis Lunsford, Annette Hughes, Chris Satterlund, Betsy Politi, Jackie Ruben, Jody Stigliano, Meaghan Hilton, Sue Flynn, Nikki Mutch, and Charlie Young. Special thanks to Roz Hilden, my Bay Area rep, the sweetest lady in the whole world who puts up with my shenanigans during events.

  And where would I be without the creative Scholastic marketing and publicity super duo, Rachel Feld and Brooke Shearouse? You two are amazing, and I’m grateful for all you do for me.

  The talented designer and art director extraordinaire, Christopher Stengel is the brilliant brain behind the gorgeous covers on Everland, Umberland, and Lost Boy. I curtsy to your skill.

  And of course, many thanks to those at Scholastic who continue to provide ongoing support, including David Levithan, Tracy van Straaten, and Lizette Serrano. Also, I must send love out to Lori Benton, John Pels, and Paul Gagnes, who handle all things audio books.

  Last, but hardly least, special thanks to the original storytellers, J. M. Barrie and Lewis Carroll. The world would be less magical without Peter and Wendy or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

  Wendy Spinale is a former character actor for the Disneyland theme park (so she is very familiar with the world of make-believe). She is the author of Everland, as well as its prequel novella, Lost Boy.

  Wendy lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area.

  Also by

  WENDY SPINALE

  EVERLAND

  LOST BOY

  (a prequel novella to Everland)

  Copyright © 2017 by Wendy Spinale

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

  First edition, May 2017

  Cover art ©2017 by Mike Heath | Magnus Creative

  Cover design by Christopher Stengel

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-95320-7

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.