This book is the winner of numerous awards. It was recognised by the Christopher Award. It was recognised in the Picture Book category by the Black-Eyed Susan Award. It also was recognised by the Rhode Island Book Awards. It was recognised in the Ages 7-10 Years category by the Capitol Choices Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens.

This book is part of a book series called Melanie Kroupa .

This book has been graded for interest at 7-9 years.

There are 40 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2005 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr) .

Nancy Carpenter is the acclaimed illustrator of Fannie in the Kitchen, as well as Masai and I, Sitti's Secrets, and Loud Emily, among other books. She lives with her husband, daughter, and cat in Brooklyn, New York.