Day 1 of VBT Tour

Meet Award Winning Children’s Author Mayra Calvani

It is such a great pleasure to have Mayra Calvani here on my blog today.  She is always such an inspiration to me and my readers.

First of all, I’d like to thank Irene Roth for having me on her blog and Donna McDine for putting this virtual blog tour together.

To be honest, I never thought I’d become a children’s book author. I started writing fiction when I was about 12, but back then I wrote supernatural stories. My taste for the paranormal continued throughout my teens, twenties and early thirties. It wasn’t until I had my second child that, somehow, I got bitten by the children’s writing bug.

Reading all those picture books to my kids at night was the biggest influence. So, one day, I decided to sit down and write a children’s story. That first story eventually became my first published children’s book, Crash!

Since then, I’ve never looked back. I’ve always compared writing for children with walking on a rainbow (in fact, this is the name of my picture book writing workshop). The world of writing for children is a world full of color, imagination and possibilities.

I still write fiction and nonfiction for adults, but I have to admit that children’s literature, including teen fiction, is my new passion.

My latest children’s title, The Water Cycle: Water Play Series Book 1, for ages 4-8, follows the water droplets in their journey from the clouds to the earth and back to the clouds again. Written in a lyrical style, the book takes a new angle on the water cycle by showing the feelings it evokes in people. It also has fun learning activities at the end.

Here’s the first review!

“Written in Calvani’s delightful prose. “Huddle inside the CLOUD high up in the sky, the water droplets are excited,” While also complemented by the imaginative artwork of Alexander Morris’ fun illustrations, makes this book both easy to read and informative. The author also includes for her young readers a word search and glossary learning activity—a great addition to every teacher and homeschool parents’ teaching library.”

Carol Fraser Hagen, Reading specialist and special education teacher.

You can read the complete review at http://www.carolfraserhagen.com/2012/04/30/reading-about-science-book-recommendation

I hope you’ll follow my tour to learn more about me and my work. Tomorrow I’ll be at Donna McDine’s blog, www.donna-mcdine.blogspot.com

Thanks and have a great day!
Purchase The Water Cycle: Water Play Series Book 1 from Guardian Angel Publishing: http://guardianangelpublishing.com/water-cycle.htm

Purchase from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616332379/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
About the author: Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults. and has authored over a dozen books, some of which have won awards. Her stories, reviews, interviews and articles have appeared on numerous publications such as The Writer, Writer’s Journal, Multicultural Review, and Bloomsbury Review, among many others. Visit her website at http://www.MayrasSecretBookcase.com and get the first two lessons of her popular Walking on a Rainbow Picture Book Workshop free!

Title: The Water Cycle: Water Play Series Book 1
Author: Mayra Calvani
Illustrations: Alexander Morris
Genre: Children 4-8
Print ISBN: 9781616332372; 1616332379
eBook ISBN: 9781616332389; 1616332387
Published: March 15, 2012
Pages: 20
Price: $10.95 print; $5.00 e-Book
Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc.
http://guardianangelpublishing.com/water-cycle.htm