David Borgenicht: If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes at least a small hamlet or burg to write a book about raising children—and this book is no exception. First, I’d like to thank my coauthor Jim Grace and his wife, Lisa, for the many lost weekends and late-night conversations it took to put this book together. I’d also like to thank our editor, Erin Slonaker, for her wisdom, guidance, and bullwhip, and our designer, Mike Rogalski, for his talent and persistence, and Jason Schneider for his unique ability to render ducks with attitude. And of course, I’d like to thank the many moms and dads who contributed their knowledge of parental grift: my own parents, Louis and Nancy; my brother, Joe, and his wife, Melanie; Reka and Peter Rubin, the dads of Quirk—Brett Cohen, John McGurk, and Jason Rekulak; Emily Betsch; and all the parents in our Thursday playgroup—Jenn and Derek, Margot and Jeff, Kate and Patrick, Jennifer and Nestor, Tonya and Jeff, Liz, Jeanine and Jon, and Kristen and Brendan. Finally, I have to thank my wife, Suzanne, and my children, Sophie and Max—without whom this book definitely wouldn’t have been possible, or necessary. Thank you for providing me with a con-artist’s training ground—it’s a wonderful thing.
James Grace: I often feel like I am in the movie The Sting, constantly orchestrating one long con. The supporting cast in my movie is the great friends and family that I have learned from and that have helped me pull off some of my better cons. I want to thank them for all of their support, shared techniques, and time. The casting of my wife, Lisa Goldblatt Grace, was the key to everything. She helped craft this book, and without her this whole parenting thing would be a lot less fun. Robin Alperin deserves great credit for all her work on the book. Robin has worked with kids for many years as a preschool teacher and mom, and her advice and research were invaluable. Other people that shared their sneakiness include Kathy Reed, Dr. Anthony Compagnone, Krista Harte Sasaman, and the king and queen of the con: Mama and Papa Grace.