The Adventures of Alicia Parker – Illustrated Children’s Book by Anita Bacha

The Adventures of Alicia Parker take you to unexpected,humorous, magical spaces. Adults and children emerge as the protagonists, laying bare their hidden aspirations and vulnerabilities.

The Adventures of Alicia Parker is my latest illustrated children’s book. It’s edited,published by Austin Macauley Publishers and recently released on 30 January 2026.

It dawned upon me to write yet another book for children when I met the best selling author of The Ark of Noah , Irving Finkel in person ,at the British Library in 2019.The unexpected event happened against the backdrop of the Zee Jaipur Literary Festival.

We talked about books. Finally, he left me with these memorable words of wisdom and inspiration-

Writing is one of the miraculous achievements of the world.The best thing that you can do is to write children’s books.

I had already written and published three books for children. I toyed with the idea of writing a fourth one halfheartedly. I was aware of the complexity of the market and the competition in the field of books for children. Thousands of books for kids were written,published and released every day of the year.

It was a risky choice.

Stories about pet animals, fairies and extraterrestrial beings were too common, my new story should be unique and exclusive, I concluded.

I put my pen on paper and started to write the story of a tomboy who was no one else but me! Adventurous, fearless, daring…

All children are endowed with some kind of special gift, imagination, intuition, foresight or premonition. They rarely talk about it or they are not allowed to speak about it. The least they can do is to read about it.

Even more, children who read early tend to achieve higher academic proficiency and better comprehension later in school.Simultaneously exposure to words from birth builds neural pathways, expands vocabulary, and improves comprehension skills.

The only way to get children to read books,specially in my native country, Mauritius, is to add some salt and pepper to my tales.

Happy Reading, Everyone!

The Adventures of Alicia Parker is available for purchase in #paperback #audio and #kindle

From #Austin Macauley #Amazon and #BarnesandNoble

Anita Bacha

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adventures-Alicia-Parker-Anita-Bacha/dp/1037113853

BOOK LAUNCH- LEAVES by Anita Bacha

LEAVES, A Collection of Haiku, Senryu and Tanka Poems  was released in July 2024. It immediately gained a lot of popularity in Kindle Amazon and readers started to purchase the paperback, the kindle and to read for free. I was happy. Readers believe in me and in my work.

At the same time, I was sad. Amazon is not available in my birth country, Mauritius. The only thing I could do was to bring LEAVES to my faithful audience in Mauritius. I did.

Organized in a jiffy, the main hall of Mauritius Gymkhana Club was booked for Wednesday 04 2024. The books were expected to arrive from U.S.A by special delivery on Tuesday 03. Invitations were sent.

The Big Day arrived in a flash.

The hall was packed with keen, enthusiastic guests and my followers on social media.

Welcome address by Mr. Yogen Bacha, Master of Ceremony and laudable words about me, the author and, about LEAVES, my book were a terrific start for the evening. Quote-

‘Leaves’ is a poetic exploration of Nature, seasons and the human experience, blending haiku, senryu and tanka to create a vibrant tapestry of emotion and imagery. This collection is a tribute to the beauty of life’s fleeting moments and a testament to Mrs. Bacha’s mastery of poetic expression.

My colleague at The Bar, Mridula , Govind Nagi, Mr. Mauritius 2024 and others read poems from LEAVES. Applause filled my ears.

Last I picked up the mic to address the audience.

It was a rather long speech interlaced by recital of tanka poems by me.

I have chosen a few excerpts from my speech that may interest you, my dear friends-

‘I started the project of writing a second collection of short poems after the resounding success of my debut anthology of haiku, ‘PINK MOON’. However, the journey was filled with moments of doubts, tiredness, sleepless nights and health problems.’

‘LEAVES is a collection of haiku, senryu and tanka poems that I wrote during the past two years. It is more than just an anthology of short poems of Japanese style in English to me. It’s an expression of thanks to Mother Nature. Leaves come and go similar to the cycle of life and death.’

‘It’s a reflection of the human spirit, our capacity for resilience and, the power of hope in the darkest times.’

‘My readers, both longtime fans and those just discovering my work, this book is for you. Your views, likes, messages and support on the social media, WordPress, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have fueled my passion to write. I hope LEAVES resonates with you and perhaps offers you a new perspective of life challenges  just as I have left a piece of myself in every word.

I am signing off with these words ‘This is my last book’.

Anita Bacha

Master of Ceremony, Mr. Yogen Bacha ,F.C.A
Launch of the book
Recitals of Short Poems
Book signing for Barrister Mridula Cheereemoony

 Sponsored by Hibiscus Boutique Hotel Mauritius.

Sponsored by Hibiscus Boutique Hotel Mauritius

Happy viewing and reading, my friends.

Write till your signature becomes your autograph

Write until your signature becomes an autograph – Anita Bacha.

Anita Bacha

After the huge success of my illustrated children’s book ‘WAKASHIO’, I toyed with the idea of writing a fiction book for children on the pandemic, Covid 19. For more than two years. I was hesitant and even fearful that children and parents would eschew such a story book.

 Covid 19 has been the greatest enemy of Man for more than a century. Children like adults lived into confinement. They missed their school and classmates. Some were ill. Some went without the noshes they love the most. Some lost a dear one. Now that Covid 19 is an unpleasant memory, children would most likely want to turn over a new leaf and forget all about it.

 Yet, one day it dawned upon me that children should not forget the passage of the deadly virus over their beautiful island, Mauritius and, mostly what they themselves contribute to stop the spread of the virus by implementing the precautionary measures recommended by the World Health Organization and the health authorities in Mauritius.  I picked up my pen and I wrote ‘IL ETAIT UNE FOIS CORONA VIRUS’ (translated into English ‘ONCE UPON A TIME CORONA VIRUS’).

IL ETAIT UNE FOIS CORONA VIRUS ‘my latest children book is a tale based on real facts told by two Mauritian children Angela and Oshin. These two Mauritian kids are characters that I created myself and, they are the two well-known characters in my book ‘WAKASHIO’. Here they narrate to our young audience their adventure with a virus, Corona. An imaginary story about the Corona Virus that will make the delight of all, small and big children.

Reading books is very important for children. Reading helps children to improve both their written and spoken languages. It also helps to develop their imagination and intellect, to carry them over lands and seas beyond the quotidian. Encouraging children to read at an early age by parents and, grandparents at home develop in them the love for reading and for the attainment of world knowledge.

“The subject of the book chosen by the author, Anita Bacha, is strong. I congratulate her for having approached the subject of Covid 19 with finesse, adroitness and fragility that only an experienced writer of children’s book like her would do. Children need to know what is happening around them, in their country and in the whole world. My children loved Wakashio, the first book of Ma’am Bacha and they love the second one too. I trust that she will continue to write stories about the history of Mauritius. I recommend IL ETAIT UNE FOIS CORONA VIRUS to everyone. Buy this book!” – Guest Speaker, Eva Palmans, mother of two endearing boys, bookworm and big bibliophile.

“Personally, I have greatly appreciated ‘IL ETAIT UNE FOIS CORONA VIRUS’, the third illustrated children’s book of the well-known author, Anita Bacha. She is a barrister and, a retired Senior Magistrate who dedicate her time to writing poems and more importantly books for children. I imagined the difficulty of the author in writing about such a perturbing topic. After delving into the pages of her book, I can only congratulate her. The author’s love for children has triumphed. I recommend that book full of colourful and astounding illustrations to all! Buy it and enjoy!” – Sabrina Patten, Mistress of Ceremony, Director of Primary School, L’Odyssée du Savoir and booklover.

“In my endeavour to encourage children to read books and to combat illiteracy, I have produced that small book.  I sincerely trust that it will be wholeheartedly read by all the adorable children of the world and, by adults too. Many thanks to the parents and children who attended the book signing event at the Gymkhana Club Mauritius.” Anita Bacha.

Thank you for your visit and for viewing, my dear Friends.

My latest illustrated children’s book
With endearing little girl, my big fan
With Karen Fook Yuen Bacha, MLA, proud mother of Ryūchi,my grandson.
With adorable children of Eva Palmans, Guest Speaker.
With Sabrina Patten, Mistress of Ceremony, Director of Primary School L’odyssée du savoir