One day, María's father takes her to the busy market. There they trade goods for food for Mana's mother and baby brother. María helps by making her father laugh while he works. But she wants to do more. So Mana finds a very special way to help her family.

Elaine Marie Alphin is the author of the I Can Read Book a bear for miguel, illustrated by Joan Sandin, as well as several young adult novels, including Counterfeit Son, which won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult Mystery. Ms. Alphin lives in Madison, Indiana.