Pam Munoz Ryan grew up in the San Joaquin Valley of California and now lives with her family near San Diego. She based this story on the experiences of her maternal grandmother whose privileged life in Mexico was altered dramatically when she immigrated to the United States and went to work in a company-owned farm labor camp. She is the author of the acclaimed "Riding Freedom" and "Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride," an ALA Notable Children's Book.