Greg Mortenson - Three Cups of Tea ( The Young Readers Edition)

We hope you enjoy the young readers edition of Three Cups of Tea and it inspires you to go out and make a difference in your city, town, country, or around the world. It has been incredibly exciting to work with Puffin to create the young readers edition, and to listen and respond to your requests to make it a better learning experience by adding maps, a glossary, Whos Who, a time line, photos, and more.

First of all, thanks to all the dedicated teachers, workers, staff and dedicated communities and children in Pakistan and Afghanistan, who have given everything so that their children can learn to read and write and attend school.

Thank you to all the teachers all over the world, who dedicate their lives to education. You are our heroes, who constantly inspire, motivate, and give children the light of hope for the future.

Thanks to librarians who promote literacy and books, and help guide us with access to knowledge and information.

Thanks to David Oliver Relin, the coauthor of Three Cups of Tea , who worked hard for two years to get this story told. Davids wife, Dawn, an elementary school teacher, was also a source of inspiration for this book.

Thank you Sarah Thomson (and your two cats), who from a small room in Maine adapted and wrote the superb young readers edition (her twentieth book).

Thanks to Paul Slovak, the Penguin editor of the adult version, who has been a constant source of support for Three Cups of Tea and who helped encourage it to be written in a young readers edition.

Thank you Eileen Kreit, publisher of Puffin, for your amazing energy and enthusiasm that never stops (Go Girl!), and for your extra interest and support because of your own children.

A special thanks to Jen Bonnell, senior editor at Puffin, who worked patiently day and night for months to help get the book down and was a source of encouragement to Amira to share with her fellow students the experiences and feelings she has being a part of the Three Cups of Tea family. You rock!

Thanks also to the very dedicated people at the Penguin Young Readers Group, who helped with this book and also the Dial picture book, Listen to the Wind , including Deborah Kaplan, Lauri Hornik, Alisha Niehaus, Theresa Evangelista, Nick Vitiello, Teresa Kietlinski, and also Pat Shuldiner, who copyedited and proofed the book.

Thank you to Dr. Jane Goodall and the Roots & Shoots organization for the foreword, and for inspiring all of us to realize that all life is sacred, which we should cherish and protect.

Thanks to the humanitarian workers in the world, who work hard to help bring education, health, and environmental conservation to make our home, planet Earth, a better place. We also thank the peacemakers, and people serving in the military around the world, who also dedicate their lives to peace. Your sacrifices are always appreciated, and you are in our thoughts.

Thanks to my mother-in-law, Lila Bishop, and her late husband, Dr. Barry Bishop, who were both educators and instilled in us a love for geography and different cultures.

Thank you to all my cousins, extended family, and especially my sisters, Sonja Joy and Kari, brother-in-law Brent Bishop, and their spouses and children for blessing us with their love and strength of family.

Thanks to my mother, Jerene Mortenson, a lifelong educator, and my late father, Dempsey. From the time we were babies, they read books to us every night in Africa and taught us how important a life of service and education is.

Amira and Khyber, my two dear children, you are the angels in my life. It is never easy to have a father gone up to half of the year, for most of your childhood. You have given up many precious times we could have shared togetherto read, play, explore life, and snuggleso that other children could have hope through education. Your love and courage are the shining stars of our lives.