📚 A Bookish Chat with 'Little Giants' Author Raynelda Calderon #Interview

Raynelda Calderon grew up in the Dominican Republic, on a healthy diet of romance novels, comic strips, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s books, and the strict watch of her mother. She has a doctorate in leadership in higher education and works as a public librarian.

As a librarian, working with children inspires her to write about the accomplishments of Hispanics in history. She hopes to inspire young readers to follow their passions.

Raynelda lives in New York with an untamed Shih Tzu, Toby, and a much attached Chihuahua, Maya. She spends her free time thinking (and drafting) about books to write, or painting, crocheting, or crying over abused dogs.

You can visit her website at rayneldacalderon.com. Connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.

Welcome to The Writer's Life! How did you come up with the idea to write your book?

The idea of writing about the accomplishments of Hispanic women developed at different stages. I work at a public library, and one day, I was looking for children’s books to display for Hispanic Heritage Month. I then realized that, although there are quite a lot of children’s books about African American figures, I couldn’t find one about Hispanics. So I thought, “Hmmm… maybe my library just doesn’t carry any?”

A search on Amazon revealed that my library didn’t have those types of books because there were none! Immediately I got in a kind of “author mode” and started thinking “hmmm… what if I write one…”

At first I wanted to include a female figure from every Hispanic country, so I started writing to accomplish that. Then the idea of publishing the book in a bilingual format occurred to me and I realized that I would end up with a big book (not ideal for children). So I decided to write about 12 Hispanic women instead. At the end, I settled for just 10 because I also wanted to include a glossary and worksheets at the end of the book that parents, teachers, and librarians could use.

How would you describe your book’s ideal reader?

Children between the ages of 8 and 12 who enjoy learning about the lives of historical figures.

What part of the book was the most fun to write?

I enjoyed writing about all the females in the book. I especially enjoyed learning about Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso (I looked up her interviews on YouTube) and Conchita Citrón, the most famous female bullfighter in history.

How did you come up with the title?

That I can’t explain! It wasn’t something that I played with. I just thought about writing about Hispanic women who had made history so the title just followed along?

What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

Publishing a book is a lengthy process but for this one, I did it in just a couple of months!

What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book?

Don’t give up. Sometimes I thought, “what am I doing? Nobody is going to read this book.” And sometimes my initial blaze of inspiration ran dry. But I persisted, and “Little Giants” is here today.

How do you use social media as an author?

I just use it to follow accounts I find interesting, post updates about my books, and also post self-publishing tips.

What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

I am in the final stages of the book about the Mirabal sisters, three sisters from the Dominican Republic that were assassinated during the dictatorship of the 1960s.

If you could spend a day with another popular author, whom would you choose?

Yuyi Morales, because she writes and illustrates her own books!

Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

I hope to motivate and inspire our children today to accomplish great things tomorrow based on the example of role models from the past and present. I would like them to learn about and remember the contributions of women in history to be encouraged and inspired to lead the future.

Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?

Drop me a line to share your thoughts about the book!

Title: LITTLE GIANTS: 10 HISPANIC WOMEN WHO MADE HISTORY
Author: Raynelda Calderon
Publisher: Cayena Press, Inc.
Pages: 64
Genre: Juvenile Biography

BOOK BLURB:

Little Giants: 10 Hispanic Women Who Made History is a short collection of biographies about Hispanic women and the impact they made in the world. Some of the women featured in this book are iconic figures such as ballet dancer Alicia Alonso; others are less known heroines such as indigenous leader Dolores Cacuango, founder of the first bilingual school in Ecuador. Beautiful illustrations accompany the text to bring these women to life and inspire the young generation of readers to be leaders tomorrow.

This book is a great resource to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by reading about the history and accomplishments of these courageous women and their contributions in Latin America.

PRAISE

“This is what every Hispanic household needs. Finally a powerful book that we can share with our next generation ( and even adults).” – Amazon reviewer