Ella is a vivacious, spunky, and determined little girl! Born in Brazil, Ella and her family moved to America where she learned to embrace and thrive in her new home country and culture. She enters the school's annual Turkey Trot, where she will race against Shirley, the fastest girl in school. Ella has her eyes on the first-place prize - a big, fat, frozen turkey. This race, and its prize, symbolize a desire to belong - the turkey is her ticket into celebrating a new American tradition. Will Ella beat Shirley for the grand prize? A Brazilian native, Rafaella was born a storyteller. She moved to the United States with her family at the age of six, her writing is a mixture of coming-of-age in America with deep ties to her Brazilian roots. From a young age, Rafaella thrived when given the freedom to be creative and explore her vivid imagination - from writing to photography. Her passion is bringing readers on a memorable journey filled with laughter, some good tears, and a whole lot of heart. Leandro Francisca has worked as a graphic designer for magazine and book publishers, but his great passion has always been drawing. In 2018 he was invited to illustrate his first children's book - Musical Circus - The Story of Tião. This was the turning point in his career. While working on this project he discovered that illustrating children's books was a better use of his talents.