This book was recognised by the Americas Award. It was recognised in the Older Readers category by the Sydney Taylor Book Award.

There are 160 pages in this book. This book was published 2009 by Simon & Schuster .

Julia Durango resides in Ottawa, Illinois, where she wrote a weekly book review column for children. She is the mother of two sons and is the author of Dream Hop , illustrated by Jared Lee, as well as Pest Fest , illustrated by Kurt Cyrus. Her work also includes Go-Go Gorillas , a sequel to Cha-Cha Chimps , both illustrated by Eleanor Taylor and Dream Away, illustrated by Robert Goldstrom. Her first novel The Walls of Cartagena was a Junior Library Guild Selection. Her most recent novel is entitled Sea of the Dead . She is a contributor the Three Silly Chicks blog and lives in Ottawa, Illinois.