Woozles is a children's book and toy store located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in operation since 1978. Woozles is proud to be celebrating 32 years this October as an independently owned and operated business—Canada's oldest children's bookstore.
Rachel Solomon, the creator of this list, has worked at Woozles for nearly ten years. Her favourite picture book growing up was The Balloon Tree by Phoebe Gilman.
Stella and her little brother, Sam, are spending the day playing in the snow. The forest, snowballs, snow angels and the mysterious white stuff itself provide fuel for Sam's questions and Stella's answers as they discover the world of winter together.
Exquisite, evocative watercolors bring a snowy day ali …
Marie Louise Gay's Stella and Sam stories are a staple in every Canadian children's library. This is Sam's first snowstorm. The world outside has been transformed by the snow and he has many questions about this new substance and all the winter activities that go along with it. Luckily for him, his big sister Stella has all the answers, and then some.
“Eww! What is that? Such horrible stew! Orange-colored roots that were sticky with goo. . . .”
Bradley McGogg makes his home in the bog where there are plenty of yummy bugs for a frog to feed on. Upon finding his pantry bare one day, Bradley decides to meet his neighbors, in the hopes that they will share some of their favorite meals with him. B …
A very fine frog, indeed! This is the tale of a hungry frog who goes searching for a meal from his neighbours upon discovering that his pantry is empty. He ends up humorously disappointed when he realizes that the creatures nearby do not eat the same things as him.
In the days of Roch’s childhood, winters in the village of Ste. Justine were long. Life centered around school, church, and the hockey rink, and every boy’s hero was Montreal Canadiens hockey legend Maurice Richard. Everyone wore Richard’s number 9. They laced their skates like Richard. They even wore their hair like Richard. When Roch outgro …
The dissonance between fans of the Montreal Canadians and the Toronto Maple Leafs has never been more fittingly described than in Roch Carrier's classic story. When young Roch's Habs sweater becomes too small and tattered to wear, his mother sends away for a new one from the Eaton's catalogue. The arrival of a Maple Leaf's sweater in its stead has incurred the same feelings of shame and disgrace in readers for many years, just as they did to Roch and his teammates.
This is a familiar and relatable story for many parents and children. Sarah outgrows her favourite yellow rain boots and is reluctant to part with them. She tries everything to make them fit again (from trying to blow them up like a balloon and planting them in the garden to tying rope around both ends while she and her brother drive their bikes in opposite directions), but to no avail. Her earnest pursuit to stretch her “shrunken” boots is endearingly, and happily, resolved in the end.
Sheree Fitch has read this book to audiences from sea to sea to sea in Canada, in the Himalayas, and along the eastern coast of Africa. Her first two books, Toes in My Nose and Sleeping Dragons All Around, launched her career as a poet, rhymster, and a "kind of Canadian female Dr. Seuss." Fitch has won almost every major award for Canadian children …
Since it first appeared in 1989, this lively tale of a young girl's midnight quest for some mocha maple chocolate cake has been enchanting audiences near and far. Fantastical descriptions of the sleeping dragons—from punk dragon Fagan to old Jebediah Jones the philosopher dragon—and Fitch's whimsical language will leave an indelible impression on young readers.
Throw it out! Cries Joseph's mother. So Joseph runs to his grandfather with his favourite blanket. Grandpa can fix anything. From the tattered blanket, Grandpa makes a handsome jacket. With a few passes of his needle, a vest becomes a Sabbath tie. And snip! Snip! A ragged handkerchief turns into a brand-new button. But when the button is lost, what …
This beautifully illustrated story from the phenomenal Phoebe Gilman is adapted from a Jewish folk tale. Joseph's grandfather has made him a blanket to keep him warm and cozy and chase away bad dreams. As Joseph grows older, his grandfather refashions a new and useful article from the tattered remains of the blanket until nothing remains. The simple, rhyming text makes this a great read-aloud, and children will love the narrative that runs along the bottom of the pages as the mouse family fashions their own clothing from the cuttings of Joseph's blankets.
In 1986 Kids Can Press published an edition of Robert Service's "The Cremation of Sam McGee" illustrated by painter Ted Harrison, who used his signature broad brushstrokes and unconventional choice of color to bring this gritty narrative poem to life. Evoking both the spare beauty and the mournful solitude of the Yukon landscape, Harrison's paintin …
Robert W. Service's famous poem written in the first decade of the twentieth century has been a staple in Canadian children's education since it was first published as a picture book in 1986, with illustrations by internationally renowned painter Ted Harrison. The poem has become an icon of the North, capturing the "spell of the Yukon," its landscape, isolation, and appeal.
Dennis Lee's nonsensical poems are filled with playful rhymes and references to Canadian people and places. Before it appeared in 1974, there were virtually no Canadian nursery rhymes or poems for children, leading Lee to be called Canada's Father Goose. An uproariously fun read-aloud!
