Woozles

Woozles opened on Birmingham Street in downtown Halifax on October 14, 1978, founded by Ann Connor Brimer with Brian and Liz Crocker at a time when the city had no bookstore for children. Brian and Liz bought the building, a rambling old house painted bright yellow with a green door, and Liz was expecting their first child. The founders wanted a community place as much as a store, somewhere newcomers might ask where to find a daycare. Children's books share the shop with toys and games, and a comfy old chair in the corner invites reading on the spot. The shop calls itself Canada's oldest children's bookstore. Staff have stayed for decades. Original manager Trudy Carey retired in 2009 after 31 years, and Lisa Doucet then became co-manager with Liz Crocker. Past staff include author Hadley Dyer and illustrator Eric Orchard. The shop started a Battle of the Books for young readers in 1986, has run writing competitions, and in 2019 published books by two young writers to mark its 40th anniversary. Quill & Quire profiled the store at forty in 2018. In October 2021 Woozles left the yellow building off Spring Garden Road after 43 years, citing the age of the house and access for strollers, and moved with its old chair to a new building on Shirley Street in the West End, a move reported by CBC News.