by David Mellon
There was a glint of gold in the palm of its hand, maybe just tiny yellow mushrooms. The boy tried to scrape it loose from the moss and dirt. Fingers closed around his tiny hand. With a yelp, he fell back on the ground. The statue’s eyes opened.
The boy cried most of the way home.
By the time he returned, in the company of his older brothers, the crowd in the park was gone. The only ones left were men with huge hammers, smashing the French monuments. They were even hauling away the train car.
Whatever the boy had seen in the wood was gone as well. There was now only a hollow in the weeds, swarming with grubs and beetles, blanched for want of sun. By the time the boy’s brothers, in their boots, had inspected the thicket, any trace of the footprints that had walked away were gone.
Acknowledgments
Several years back I spent a week at Esalen talking fairy tales with Brother David Steindl-Rast. Silent is the tree that’s grown from the seed, Brother.
Many thanks to the wonderful people at Merit Press, Meredith O’Hayre, Frank Rivera, and my oh-so-invaluable copyeditor, Suzanne Goraj—and most especially my editor, Jacquelyn Mitchard, a great writer, who, as I’d always hoped an editor might do, found my book wandering in the woods and brought it home.
Thank you to all my dear friends who listened and read: Jack and Roberta Forem, Carolyn Yost and Larry Barber, Tinker Lindsay, Peter Chelsom, John Albanis, Fred Joyal, Jaci Sisson, Jackie Jaffee, Suzy Hertzberg, Michael Sigman, Selby Anderson, Carol Kline, and Scott Colglazier (who was there that week with Brother David).
Many thanks to the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program that introduced me to the redoubtable Laurel van der Linde. Thank you, Laurel.
Thank you to Lin Oliver and Stephen Mooser and all of the people at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
Thanks to my mom and dad for their unwavering love and support. And to my brother Lance, who can do a heck of a shoulder stand in full lotus—but probably shouldn’t.
And endless gratitude to my brilliant writer’s group: Kristen Baum, Manisha Patel, Janine Pibal, Margaret Tellez, Mary Lynne Raske, and our glorious leader, Sheila Sobel. I guess you could write a book without a group, but I sure wouldn’t want to have to.
To my brother Christopher. Working on the book with you is a pretty good picture of what heaven might be like. Thanks, brother.
Finally, to my beautiful Judith, I could not have done it without you.
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DAVID MELLON is a storyboard artist working in film and television in Los Angeles. A member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators since 2011, he’s been nominated for the 2016 Allegra Johnson Prize in Novel Writing.
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Copyright © 2017 by David Mellon.
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This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
Published by
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ISBN 10: 1-5072-0168-0
ISBN 13: 978-1-5072-0168-8
eISBN 10: 1-5072-0169-9
eISBN 13: 978-1-5072-0169-5
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Simon & Schuster, Inc., was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.
Cover design by Frank Rivera.
Cover images © Getty Images/MG_54.
Interior illustrations by David Mellon.
Author photo by Peter Chelsom.
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