2004-2005 Maude Hart Lovelace Book Award Master List
2004-2005 Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award Reading List
2004 Maryland Children's Book Award Master List
2003-2004 Sunshine State Young Reader's Award Master List
2004-2005 Volunteer State Book Award Master List
2004-2005 Iowa Children's Choice Award Master List
2005 Sequoyah Children's Book Award Master List
2005 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Master List
2003-2004 Great Stone Face Award Master List
2004-2005 Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award Master List
2005 Sasquatch Reading Award Master List

Twelve-year-old Mitchell got involved with the wrong kid this past summer, and the prank they played led to an elderly woman's injury. Now he finds himself at the police station--his sentence is to chat online with a nursing home resident twice a week for the next month. Mitch isn't thrilled; what could he and some old person possibly talk about? But Mitch's new online friend has a personality all her own. Her name is Wootie Hayes, and she has plenty to talk about: how she got her name, how much she misses her own home, and how she detests bingo. But she also wants to know about Mitch's situation. Without expecting it, they help each other face the truth and begin a new friendship in the process.