LITTLE GIANTS: 10 HISPANIC WOMEN WHO MADE HISTORY
By Raynelda Calderon
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.
It never occurred to me to look for a
literary agent. I was so… eager to have that book published (since no other
book like that was out there), that I decided to publish it myself.
I created my own editorial house, Cayena Press, Inc., and
today, we have published four bilingual biographies for children. Our first
bilingual fiction book will be released this November.
Self publishing is not easy though!
Between creating the legal structure of Cayena
Press and publishing our first book, Mama
Tingo, I went broke. But more than the financial aspect of it, the burden
of self publishing is that you have to take care of everything: hiring editors
(for both English and Spanish), looking for an illustrator, formatting the
book, press kits…. a lot of details go into it. I thought that after the first
book it would be easier, but it hasn’t been. As I gain more experience I want
to do more, and implement new things for the next book!
The sense of accomplishment and seeing my
first proof arrive in the mail is priceless though!
Raynelda
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.
You can order your copy at Amazon.
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.
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