NNELS Upgrade

In this Christmas classic, six-year-old Sarah is determined to make the very best snowman possible, without the help of her older brother. When she sees her snowman, Max, come to life in a Christmas Eve frolic, her family refuses to believe her story. Although Sarah thinks she has proof that it was not all a dream, she decides in the end to keep the knowlege of her snowman friend as her very own special secret.

Candy, Josie and Buddy are three canine friends whose days are filled with fun and friendship at the local park. But their happy days are threatened when two bullies named Riff and Raff drive them from their park, perhaps for good. When the three timid friends return, unable to keep themselves away from their favourite spot, the bullies are determined to do them serious harm. This book teaches a valuable lesson that every child should learn, that if good friends stand together, bullies soon find out that they’re not as tough as they thought.

Jade is a curious nine-year-old who likes to help out at her family’s Chinese restaurant, The Fragrant Garden, after school. Though she is often allowed to help set tables or clean up, she longs to be part of the more exciting tasks such as helping in the kitchen or using the cash register. Her father thinks she is too young for these responsibilities - until a fire breaks out in the kitchen. Jade’s quick-thinking response wins her praise and her father reconsiders her request for more responsibility at the Fragrant Garden.

Seal went for a stroll...The icy puddles were too small for swimmingThe rocks were too tall for climbing.Seal saw bright lights. They sparkled.Seal liked the snow.One snowy night in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, a strange figure peeks out from behind a parked car. A woman screams! So begins a lost harbour seal's adventure through the steep streets of the sleepy winter city.

It's Halloween and Amayah doens't have a costume to wear to school. She dressed as a ghost for the last three years in a row, witches are overdone, and fairies are not her style. She wants to be something different, something creative, something no one else in the world has ever been in the history of Halloween. A sweet story of standing out and fitting in, The Walking Bathroom is the newest book from award-winning author and spoken-word poet Shauntay Grant (Up Home).

The snow knows where the rabbit goes.It knows the hush­shushof the owl's wing.In this deceptively simple children's picture book, a pair of award­winning storytellers share the joys of winter.

It's wintertime in Nova Scotia and two flying squirrels are busy exploring the woods around their spruce-tree home. After a busy night of playing and gliding and snacking, they're ready to settle down and sleep all day. But humans have other plans: the tree is cut down and packed onto a truck bound for Boston, Massachusetts. Turns out their new home has been chosen as Halifax's annual thank-you gift, the Boston Christmas Tree. The little squirrels have no idea they're about to embark on a journey across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Maine on the way to Boston.

Nine-year-old Mayann Francis and her family are travelling from their home in Cape Breton to New York City by train. Everything is exciting to young Mayann, from the beds that fold down to the stop in Montreal to visit friends. Most exciting of all is the chance to show off her brand new purse.When the Francis family arrives in big, bustling New York City, Mayann visits with relatives, goes to the zoo, and rides the subway. She even receives a beautiful black doll, something she has never seen before. But one subway ride, she loses her beautiful purse.

Maud Lewis 1-2-3 is a wonderful first counting book and introduction to the joy-filled art of Nova Scotia's most famous folk painter, Maud Lewis. Even the youngest babies will be drawn to the bright colours and bold forms in Lewis's whimsical paintings. Babies and toddlers will have fun searching the vibrant images to count the kittens, oxens, birds, and flowers on each page.

Acadian Mémère and Scottish Nannie seem to have nothing in common but their grandchildren, but in this endearing picture book from bestselling author Diane Carmel Léger and noted illustrator Jean-Luc Trudel, difference is celebrated. A co-publication with New Brunswick’s award-winning Bouton d’or Acadie and simultaneously published in French, Nannie and  Mémère is a whimsically illustrated, heartwarming tale of the special relationship between grandparents and grandchildren, and a celebration of family, of all shapes and sizes.