The Flying Taco

Fly Your Story: the travel challenge

Design a place on Earth you would love to visit, Flying Taco style. Bring art, planning, writing, and teamwork together.

1. Dream it — 5 minutes. Make three small destination sketches. Note foods, landmarks, animals, and colors. Keep exploring ideas without erasing.
2. Plan it — 10 minutes. Choose a sketch and give it a title. List three highlights, three details you would see, hear, or smell, and one act of kindness you could do there.
3. Build the words — 15 minutes. Make a two-page spread: finished artwork on the left; a headline, two or three captions, and a five-to-seven-sentence story on the right.
4. Share and improve — 5 minutes. Exchange pages with a classmate. Offer one Glow—something that works—and one Grow—something to improve. Make a small revision.

Bring the adventure to your school.

Explore FEAST: Food, Exploration, Art, Stories, and Teamwork. Ask Lisa about assemblies, the school play, and current opportunities to share student artwork.

A story rooted in family and hope

Hope, the Flying Taco, is named for Lisa’s mother, Esperanza, whose name means hope. The adventure invites children to explore the world through food, culture, kindness, and imagination, with special pages celebrating California and Texas, where Lisa has roots.

The book is also a tribute to illustrator and cousin Davey Villalobos. His vibrant artwork carries their shared creative vision forward for children and families.

Meet the family creative team

Lisa Caprelli

The author of the Unicorn Jazz and In His Image series shares storytelling and music with children, creating books in English and Spanish that encourage creativity, imagination, and hope.

Matthew Vasquez, RN

A nurse, speaker, co-author, and puppeteer of Trezekke the Zebracorn, Matthew helped shape the story and contributed the book design, graphic layout, cover art, and binding.

Suzanne Funk, M.Ed.

An early childhood specialist, mother, and former classroom educator, Suzanne is also the founder and co-owner of Desert Oak BBQ, bringing together family, community, and food.

Davey Villalobos

The illustrator behind the Unicorn Jazz adventures loved drawing from childhood. His colorful characters and illustrations remain part of the books and his creative legacy.

Student artwork and anthology opportunities

Teachers and families can ask Lisa about current opportunities for students to submit original artwork for the Unicorn Jazz collection and future anthologies.

The Flying Taco theater play

Bring the story to a school, community event, or local theater. Ask Lisa about the script, performance arrangements, and audience sing-along.

The curtain-call idea from the original program has the cast enter with postcards representing India, Japan, Australia, France, Africa, California, and Texas, then invite the audience to sing along.