This book is part of a book series called Picture Yearling Books .

This book has been graded for interest at 5-8 years.

This book was published 1999 by Turtleback Books .

Tynia Thomassie, a Louisiana native, teaches middle school in New Jersey where she lives with her husband, jazz guitarist Dave Stryker, and their two sons. Ms. Smith lives in Pittsford, New York, with her pup Daisy. She received a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1961. She was an editorial illustrator for Rochester Gannett newspapers, and taught illustration at R. I. T. She has been drawing since she could hold a pencil in her hand and has been illustrating trade books since 1985. Mary Quattlebaum loved playing pirates, reading ghost stories, and planting seeds in the family garden when she was a kid. And pirates, ghosts, and a garden are all featured in her books, which include Hero Dogs!: True Stories of Amazing Animal Heroes! , Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns , and Jo MacDonald Hiked in the Woods . She is the author of 20 award-winning children's picture books, books of poetry, chapter books, and novels. Quattlebaum teaches in the Vermont College MFA program and at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland. She also regularly reviews children's books for The Washington Post .