Creech won the annual Carnegie Medal from the British librarians, recognizing the year's best children's book published in the U.K. (Bloomsbury Children's Books). In a retrospective citation, the librarians call it "a beautifully written story about love and trust and how the strength and goodness of human beings can overcome all the odds". Creech was the first American winner of the British award and the first person to win both the American Newbery Medal ("Walk Two Moons", 1994) and the British Carnegie.