Vincentian author Caren Charles De Freitas has released her first children’s book, “Girl in a Pretty Dress,” published by Brooklyn-based Palatial Publishers, LLC.
“Every little girl likes to ‘dress up’ in pretty dresses. As the 10th of eleven children, fourth of four girls, I had to wear the ‘cast off’ – locally known as ‘Hand Me Down’ — because my parents were not well off enough to buy pretty dresses all the time,” Charles De Freitas – an acting director at Friends of Crown Heights Educational Center in Brooklyn, where she is leading the task to “Bridging the Gap”, a reading pathway initiated by late president and CEO Vaughan Toney – told Caribbean Life.
“The little girl in the story mimics the child inside of me that always wanted to dress up and twirl but never had the opportunity to,” added Charles De Freitas, an ordained minister at Trinity Methodist Church on Eastern Parkway, near Utica Avenue, in Brooklyn, where she has been worshiping for the last 20 years. “It also exposes the dynamics of some homes, where the father is away working to maintain the needs of the home, and mom keeps the household going.
“While that is happening, unforeseen circumstances can cause disruptions in the natural flow of life,” she continued. “Fancy is faced with a situation of seeing her father in a different role – wheelchair bound. Can she love him the same way? Is he going to be able to provide for his family as he was accustomed to?”
Charles De Freitas, who resides in Canarsie, Brooklyn, is the author of two previous publications: “Shadows in the Shade,” an anthology of poems published by AuthorHouse in 2016; and “Living Waters,” a 90-day devotional, co-written with her pastor, Rev. Derwin Grant, in 2021, during the COVID pandemic, published by Amazon Publishing.
She said she desires to publish at least two books annually, on her way into retirement, “because of the number of manuscripts from several genres I’ve been writing and compiling over the last 30 years – from romance novels, poetry, children’s books, and spiritual books.”
Charles De Freitas said her love for writing was triggered by her love of reading.
Charles De Freitas said her love for writing was triggered by her love of reading.
“And so, from an early age, after winning the BBC Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation Essay Writing as a young teen, I knew I was destined to be a writer,” she said. “My desire was to be a journalist, not a teacher, but the Lord had already marked out my path as an educator.”
However, Charles De Freitas said that while she has been in the education field for the last 46 years, she has never stopped writing.
“So, as an author, I have experienced both the highs and lows of writing,” she said. “It’s an exciting yet challenging experience to be able to bring my words to life in a storyline that can capture the heart of children.
“It brings great satisfaction to see my writing take shape on the page,” she added. “There are those moments of self-doubt and ‘creative block’, when I can’t figure out what the next sentence should be. However, this journey as a writer has brought me so much joy, pleasure, and a great sense of personal accomplishment.
“It brings great satisfaction to see my writing take shape on the page,” she added. “There are those moments of self-doubt and ‘creative block’, when I can’t figure out what the next sentence should be. However, this journey as a writer has brought me so much joy, pleasure, and a great sense of personal accomplishment.
“My desire is to one day make it to the Best Sellers List and earn a Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, or a Coretta Scott King Award for writing children’s books,” continued Charles De Freitas, who was born and raised in Cedars, a small coastal village on the Windward side of mainland St. Vincent.
As a child, she said her love of reading was encouraged by her late father, who was an avid reader.
Charles De Freitas said she began her teaching career at the elementary school level, at 15, and harnessed her love for reading and writing in the classroom environment.
Charles De Freitas said she began her teaching career at the elementary school level, at 15, and harnessed her love for reading and writing in the classroom environment.
She said her two “beautiful children” have benefited from exposure to her writings early in life, disclosing that her only daughter, Liani Frederick, is pursuing studies in arts and culture journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in midtown Manhattan.
Charles De Freitas said she holds an undergraduate degree in childhood education from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and a graduate degree in early childhood education from Grand Canyon, AZ.
