by Karen Hesse
To Julie Reimer, you are one hardworking saint with an unsurpassed dedication to literature and the children for whom it is intended; a gifted reader, an extraordinary librarian, and a remarkable friend.
To Jean Feiwel, patience personified, vision beyond all imaginable distances, intelligence that sheds a light on every project, but particularly on this one, where so much was in the dark: my awe, my respect, and my thanks.
To Liz Szabla and Holly West, silent, but ever-present companions on this long journey, a quiet tip of the hat.
To Randy Hesse, how did I ever get so lucky?
To Paul Koch, political, historical, social, and ethical consultant, thank you for helping me see this world as only you could imagine it.
To Kate Hesse, lifter of veils on the actions and inactions of contemporary youth. How hollow this book would be if not for your input, and how grateful I am for your steady support.
To Rachel Hesse, reader of bones, fearless adventurer, befriender of those in need. Thank you for understanding and accepting my dazzling array of shortcomings.
And finally, to the children and staff of Orphelinat Foyer Evangelique in Haiti, you have taught me with your infectious zest for life that no matter how dire the circumstances, we always have a choice about how we meet the challenges and obstacles set before us.
For more information about the orphanage in Haiti that inspired Paradis des Enfants, go to:
orphelinatfoyerEvangelique.org.
about the author
While Karen Hesse was growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, she dreamed of becoming many things, including an archaeologist, an ambassador, an actor, and an author. Over the course of her life, she has worked as a waitress, a nanny, a librarian, a personnel officer, an agricultural laborer, an advertising secretary, a typesetter, a proofreader, a mental health-care provider, a substitute teacher, and a book reviewer. And, throughout it all, she wrote.
She is the award-winning author of over twenty books for children and young adults, including Letters from Rifka, Witness, and Brooklyn Bridge. In 1998, she won the Newbery Medal for Out of the Dust, and was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellows Grant in 2002.
Now living in Vermont with her husband, Randy, Hesse pairs her love of hiking with photography, going out almost daily to record what she sees. When given the chance to enhance the reader’s experience of Safekeeping with some of her photographs, she accepted without hesitation. Despite having a vast body of existing images to choose from, Hesse was determined to travel the entire route herself at the same time of year as Radley. As she describes it, “That long walk took place in the spring of 2011 … a very, very wet spring in New England. Undeterred, I dressed in raincoat, rain hat, and rain pants, Velcroed myself into an orange traffic vest, and exposed my poor camera to the most miserable conditions: rain, wind, fog, bugs, the buffeting of huge trucks. I believe this feet-on-the-ground research contributed to the authenticity of Radley’s narrative. It certainly gave me insight I would never have had otherwise.”
Visit Karen Hesse online at karenhesseblog.wordpress.com.
A FEIWEL AND FRIENDS BOOK
An Imprint of Macmillan
SAFEKEEPING. Copyright © 2012 by Karen Hesse. All rights reserved. For information, address Feiwel and Friends, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available
ISBN: 978-1-250-01134-3
Photo here by Mariam Diallo
Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto
First Edition: 2012
eISBN 9781466827523
macteenbooks.com
