Fact is sometimes better than fiction

"When I was a kid, I remember sitting through some pretty mind-numbing history classes," said long-time Westmount resident and children's author Anne Renaud. "I think what it came down to was I just couldn't relate … That's what I try to do. I try to make it engaging for kids so they'll want to keep on reading."

Renaud's latest book, 'Pier 21: Stories from Near and Far,' takes a look at the stories of immigrants, refugees, soldiers, war brides, wartime evacuees, and children who passed through Pier 21 in the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1928 to 1971.

This isn’t the first time Renaud has written a children's book about historical events. Her first book, 'A Bloom of Friendship: The Story of the Canadian Tulip Festival,' was inspired by a story her uncle, a Second World War veteran, told her. He was part of the liberating troops in Holland in 1945 and hid in a barn after being injured. There, he found a family with a young daughter, who were also hiding from the Nazis. In 1995, Renaud's uncle went back to Holland for the Liberation Day 50th anniversary and was able find the barn, and even reconnected with the daughter he hid with, now a woman in her 60s.

"When he came back and told me that, I thought, 'what an amazing story.' I find non-fiction can be more compelling than fiction, sometimes," Renaud said. Wanting to preserve her uncle's story, she set out to do some research and found there were no children's books out there on the topic. "And that's how I come to choose the topics for all of my books. I find I have to fill a void when I choose my topics."

'Pier 21' is the second in Renaud's 'Canadian Immigration' series. The first, 'Island of Hope and Sorrow: The Story of Grosse Île,' looked at the quarantine station located 50 kilometres from the port of Quebec that, between 1832 and 1937, served to prevent immigrants from spreading diseases to the mainland.

With her books geared towards children between eight and 12 years old, explaining some of the historical concepts and telling difficult stories can be a tricky task.

"It can be a challenge. Trying to define 'communism,' I thought, was a challenge," Renaud said of writing 'Pier 21.' "I try to make it as comprehensive as possible. I just want to give them an idea of what it is, so if they're interested enough, they'll go and research it a bit more." She also makes sure to run everything she writes by a friend of hers who works in an elementary school, as well as staff at the Westmount Library "to make sure the voice is right."

Like 'Island of Hope and Sorrow,' 'Pier 21' mixes historical notes and true stories about the people Renaud spoke to for the book with illustrations done by Aries Cheung, historical photographs, and newspaper clippings.

"When I do research, I'm constantly on the lookout for stuff that can be used in the illustrations," Renaud said, adding she believes the elements give her books a certain timeline.

While 'Pier 21: Stories from Near and Far' is not available in stores just yet, it has already received a fair share of praise, including a nomination for the Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award.

With more projects and ideas in the works, Renaud hopes to continue sparking children's imaginations while teaching them about our country's history.

"I find Canada has so many wonderful layers to its history, and a lot of it just goes unreported, or unlearned, so to speak," Renaud said. "What I tell kids when I give talks in schools is, we all have a story. And I play a sort of detective to find those stories."

Anne Renaud's 'Pier 21: Stories from Near and Far' will be out on bookshelves in April. For more information or to pre-order a copy, visit www.utpshop.com