Before You Came

Writing by Anne Renaud

Illustrated by Nahid Kazemi

Peanut Butter Press

978-1-927735-90-9

28 pp.

Ages 5+

March 2026 

 

From Anne Renaud, author of Mr. Crum's Potato Predicament (2017), Fania's Heart (2018), and The True Tale of a Giantess: The Story of Anne Swan (2018), comes less of a story and more of a lullaby in Before You Came. In words that are warm and sweet, the narrator speaks to a child, recalling the emotions of anticipating the arrival.

By day my heart sang out to you,

close to bursting.

My love did not know where to go. (pg. 11)

From Before You Came, written by Anne Renaud, illustrated by Nahid Kazemi

In gentle but powerful words, Anne Renaud's narrator speaks to a child yet to arrive, perhaps by birth or by adoption, about what they are feeling and imagining. It's all about a bond that is growing, and dreams and love that will be realized. 

The day you came, I gave you

all the pieces of me—

from the very first moment. (pg. 21) 

From Before You Came, written by Anne Renaud, illustrated by Nahid Kazemi

The love that this parent feels for this child, before they are even more than a whisper, is remarkable. It is deep and complex, encompassing the promise of what is and what is to be. Anne Renaud's text is so poignant than the reader, whether adult or child, will appreciate the sentiment. I can only wish that every child could feel the adoration that this child will know.

From Before You Came, written by Anne Renaud, illustrated by Nahid Kazemi

Because Anne Renaud's free verse is so intense, it would have been a challenge to find an illustrator who could match the spirit of that devotion. Nahid Kazemi, who illustrated Joanne Schwartz's picture book The Old Woman (2020) as well as many other wonderful picture books, echoes that sentiment with her PanPastel and pigment art. Her illustrations are delicate and ethereal, matching the love that is felt so intensely. There is a surreal nature to Nahid Kazemi's art, whether it be lungs with a bird in a nest resting there, or arms embracing a house. What her art tells us is the breadth and personal nature of this love. 

Though the words speak to a child, Before You Came would make a lovely gift for a new parent or parent-to-be so that they might read it to their own child. So, keep this elegant book in mind for anyone who will be touched by the tenderness of a parent's love for a child. That love may be difficult to express in words and art, but Anne Renaud and Nahid Kazemi express it with aplomb.

 

• • • • • • • 

 

The French-language edition, Avant que tu ne sois là, was published in 2023 by Les Éditions Héritage.

Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses

Written by Caroline Stellings

Peanut Butter Press

978-1-927735-14-5

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

2017

It may be about trucks and cars and mechanics, but Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses is truly a love story. And Caroline Stellings slips in that bit of romance so subtly that, except for the inevitable "Aw" at the end, young readers will still think it's a story about mechanics fixing up vehicles.

From Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses 

by Caroline Stellings

Matt works at Ben’s garage and his only dream is to own an eighteen wheeler.  But, from his meagre room at the back of the garage, it’s evident that Matt does not have the money for such a purchase. But Ben has an idea of fixing up an old car.  He finds a wreck missing most of its parts but it is free. So the two work all spring until it is drivable.  But when his cat friend Harry is desperate for transportation, Matt gives away the newly refurbished yellow car.

Next Ben finds an old clunker of a station wagon that the two repair, only to have Matt give it to Mrs. Potter, the rabbit, who is struggling to take her ten children to school in the pouring rain.

From Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses 

by Caroline Stellings

Their next project is an old pick up truck that takes them all autumn to fix. When a customer at the hardware store  overhears Matt talking about his truck, identical to one in  a calendar posted at the store, you know it’s going to change hands again.  Showing Matt an old photo of his wife on their wedding day beside such a truck, Tom had been searching everywhere for one just like it.  So on Christmas Eve, with a dozen roses, Tom picks up the Neptune Green truck to surprise his wife.  But, in a twist of fate, the surprise don’t end there and Matt’s dream comes true after all.

In a true tale of kindness and kismet, Caroline Stellings portrays a generosity rarely experienced in our world today, and demonstrates that “what goes around, comes around” in a charming plot of dogs, a cat, rabbits and cars and trucks.  It’s a story about an ordinary Joe (or rather Matt) who just keeps plugging along at life, dreaming of an eighteen wheeler and working just to survive.  But his heart is bigger than his dream and, though no one takes advantage of him, Matt gives away far more he gets. Or so it seems.  In that turn of destiny or fate or karma, Matt gets what he wants without having to compromise himself or his work ethic, still able to help many along the way.  With an understated story of kindness repaid, Caroline Stellings’s watercolour and pen and ink illustrations convey that softness and subtlety.  (By the way, if you’re a dog lover, Matt and Ben are based on the author’s own Schipperkes, Matt and Ben, to whom she dedicates the book, along with her mother “who treasured them.”) 

In Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses, Caroline Stellings gives an alternative explanation for the country song of the same name.  I think I prefer this one, as it carries a profound sentiment about good works and karma and important lessons worthy of sharing with young readers.

From Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses 

by Caroline Stellings

Gypsy's Fortune

by Caroline Stellings

Peanut Butter Press

978-1-927735-07-7

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

November, 2014

On February 19, 2015, millions around the world will be celebrating Chinese New Year and I can't think of a sweeter new book to herald it in than Caroline Stellings' first picture book, Gypsy's Fortune.  As unimposing as the author-artist herself–her previous books include The Contest (Second Story Press,  2009) and The Manager (Cape Breton University Press, 2013)–Gypsy's Fortune shares clever messages about resilience and friendship, while offering a creative history regarding the origins of the fortune cookie.

Though she lives as a vagabond and sleeps beneath the stars, the ever-cheerful Gypsy, a "palm-reading, crystal-gazing, fortune-telling cat" (pg. 6), has managed to eke out a living in 1920s San Francisco. But the election of a new mayor who denies Gypsy and other fortune-tellers the right to charge for their services has our feline scurrying for alternate employment, but unsuccessfully.  It is only when Gypsy offers to wash dishes at Wu's Restaurant and instead shares a meal with Mr. Wu that her luck changes.

Discreetly reading his tea-leaves, Gypsy realizes Mr. Wu should not be selling his restaurant as he intends and finds a way to share this "fortune" with him.  With a new marketing strategy, the two establish a friendly partnership to woo new customers and provide Gypsy with employment.

Caroline Stellings' watercolour illustrations lend an ethereal quality to Gypsy's Fortune, wholly appropriate for Gypsy's spiritual endeavours and light-heartedness.  Wide bands of subtle shading crisscross the illustrations and enhance the jaunty nature of the time and Gypsy herself.  Though the colour reproduction of the book cover does not do justice to the artwork within, Gypsy's Fortune is filled with paintings in colourful but pale hues depicting Gypsy's endeavours and fortune cookies with messages.

Just as one fortune cookie's message reads, "The long road is often the shortest path to the correct destination" (pg. 6), I believe Caroline Stellings is heading in the right direction and, with Gypsy's Fortune, I hope her destination is better secured.

Itty Bitty Bits

by Anita Daher

Illustrated by Wendy Bailey

Peanut Butter Press

978-1-927735-01-5

32 pp.

Ages 3-8

October, 2013

Every parent will be familiar with a common refrain of children and the first words of Itty Bitty Bits: "Not fair!"

This is young Molly's response to her mother's insistence that she clean her room before she can have her friend Yen over for a sleepover.  As Molly seeks help from her sister, brother, father and even their dog, Indiana Bones, she learns that everyone has work that they must address, whether they be models, homework, gardening or looking for a lost toy.  But, it is only as she watches an ant successfully carry off a partial sandwich, bit by bit, that Molly understands that "I can do it, yes I can!" And so, she shares her new-found wisdom with each from whom she'd asked help, and consequently helps herself in the end.

Great Plains Teen Fiction editor Anita Daher knows her way around engaging text, contributing to the success of much young adult CanLit.  So, Itty Bitty Bits has all the right bits for a delightful and significant picture book.  Molly could have been a whiny child, going from one to another, asking for help and having a tantrum because no one would help her.  The opening image of this little one is the face of a child that is frustrated but also one that takes the time to look for a solution.  Even though she may seem to be having little success at assistance, the opening end papers have a continuous message of "You can do it, yes you can!" so the reader can be assured that a positive message will ensue. And with that solution comes the effervescence with which illustrator Wendy Bailey has imbued the young Molly.

The positive message of perseverance and taking little steps to accomplish a big job is an important one for children to hear and to accept as they navigate the many obligations of everyday life.  Not everything will come easily or straightforwardly and without some disappointment.  But, as long as the child understands the need to accept responsibility for their own tasks and show the determination that the job will get done, Anita Daher and Wendy Bailey have done their job and surprisingly well in Itty Bitty Bits.