Prolific award-winning children’s author Anne Renaud is releasing two new picture books with Winnipeg-based Peanut Butter Press this year: Before You Came and Zoey’s Cheer-me-up Chest. 

Both titles were previously published in French, and they are illustrated by Nahid Kazemi and Gabrielle Grimard, respectively. 

Renaud, who lives in Quebec, writes in both languages and submits her manuscripts simultaneously. 

Though these books first appeared in French, Renaud explains, “[They] began in English, which is the language in which I always first explore a story’s emotional core, rhythm, and voice. Once the English text feels true, I translate it into French, aiming to stay as close as possible to the original while making subtle adjustments for cultural nuance, if needed.”

The emotional core of Before You Came is the anticipation, longing, and love experienced before the arrival of a child, which is conveyed, Renaud says, “through poetic imagery, repetition, and the language of the body and the natural world.”

Montreal-based artist Nahid Kazemi says, “For me, this book is about quiet emotional space.” 

She chose a muted palette of earth tones, pinks, and blues, but creating gentle images to reflect the gentle text was not easy. 

“All of [the illustrations] captured the moment of quiet expectation – when everything feels paused before change arrives,” she says. “It was challenging because it needed restraint. If I added too much detail, the feeling disappeared. If I removed too much, it became empty rather than full of anticipation. Finding that balance took time.”

Capturing subtle but powerful feelings was also part of the author’s inspiration for the story – the birth of her niece. 

“I felt an immediate visceral connection to her – an overwhelming realization that I would lay down my life for this child,” explains Renaud, who has no children of her own. 

“That moment gave me a profound insight into what parental love must feel like: instinctive, fierce, and limitless. This book grew out of that emotional awakening and my desire to put words to a love that existed even before the child arrived.” 

Shifting gears from newborn to kindergartener, Zoey’s Cheer-Me-Up Chest chronicles the frustrations of a day in the life of young Zoey, who feels inadequate compared to her older siblings. 

Their handmade gifts of cookies and a scarf for their father’s birthday are superior, Zoey feels, to her own simple handmade card. 

Siblings Mathilda and Mathew introduce Zoey to the idea of a “cheer-me-up chest,” which, Renaud explains, “helps Zoey shift her focus from what she can’t do yet to all the things she can do.” As Zoey fills the chest with her art and drawings, her self-doubt gives way to calm confidence.

Quebec-based illustrator Gabrielle Grimard ensured that Zoey’s drawings reveal her character: “The colours exceed her drawing in the same way that she lets herself be overwhelmed by emotions in her own life!” she says. “But her colours are frank and vivid like her!” 

Both of Renaud’s books remind all readers, children and caregivers alike, of their worth. 

Zoey’s story reminds and reassures readers that, as Renaud says, children’s “abilities, creativity, and efforts are worth celebrating.”

And, “Before You Came is for anyone who needs to be reminded that they are cherished, chosen, and profoundly loved.”