This book was recognised by the Newbery Award. The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

There are 176 pages in this book. This book was published 2004 by Harcourt Children's Books .

WILLIAM O. STEELE (1917-1979) published thirty-nine books over his long career, many of them award winners. A native of Franklin, Tennessee, he set many of his historical adventures in the hills and valleys where he grew up.