Island of Hope and Sorrow: The Story of Grosse Île

by Anne Renaud

From 1832 to 1937 more than four million people sailed across the Atlantic to the port of Quebec with the dream of creating better lives for themselves in the New World. During this period, a tiny island called Grosse Île, located fifty kilometres downstream from the port, served as a quarantine station. Its mission was to prevent ship passengers from spreading diseases to the mainland. This is the story of the island, which served both as gateway and graveyard for the thousands of people who landed on its shores, and of the caring island workers who welcomed them.

Genres: History, Canada

24 pages, Hardcover

First published May 25, 2007

About the author

Anne Renaud is a life-long Quebecker. She received her Bachelor of Translation from Concordia University in Montreal. Anne is the author of several picture books, as well as historical non-fiction books for children, including, A Bloom of Friendship: The Story of the Canadian Tulip Festival, Island of Hope and Sorrow: The Story of Grosse Île, Pier 21: Stories from Near and Far, and Into the Mist: The Story of the Empress of Ireland. Her work has been nominated for several awards, including the Silver Birch Award, the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award, the Red Cedar Book Award, the Red Maple Award and the Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize for Children's & Young Adult Literature. Anne is also a regular contributor to children’s magazines, such as Highlights, Pockets, Cricket, Odyssey, Faces, Clubhouse and Shine. Anne's readers often ask her why she writes books. She tells them it is because she likes to do creative things and she finds writing to be a very creative exercise. It’s also because she can’t dance well and she can’t sing well, so she tries her best at writing well. She hopes her books educate, entertain and inspire children.