Wild Rumpus

Cute bookstore. Employees were not friendly at all. There was only one chicken walking around and a few of the cages were empty. Be sure to check out the bathroom mirror!

I have visited this incredible bookstore many times when I was visiting Minneapolis and my children were young. They have a fantastic selection of children’s books but most unique is there collection of animals always a crowdpleaser for anyone under the age of 10!
On my recent trip to Minneapolis I was in need of a book to read on the airplane so I stopped in here hearing they had a few adult books as well
So many people were there I thought an event was going on but no, just a Monday afternoon with lots of book shoppers.
The adult section has been expanded and offers a variety of choices both in bestsellers and new releases. Also the young adult section is huge! My 13-​year-​old who used to love their children’s books, now has a new section to peruse.
Might just be, the best book store I have ever visited! See you again, on my next trip to Minneapolis!

This place is freaking amazing for adults and children alike! Took my daughter there while we were visiting from Colorado.

When we first walked in I was super excited because they have such a wonderful selection of books, and they even have cats, chickens, birds, and a couple other animals in the store that my son loved! I was highly disappointed in the service! Not one associate greeted us, helped direct us in the right direction, or made us feel welcome. I did end up buying my son a few books because their selection is amazing, but I really wish they would have been more friendly and inviting.

Absolutely unparalleled as a bookstore for children and young adults. Expertly guided by a creative and passionate staff, Wild Rumpus is a wonderfully whimsical bookstore in every way — from the various creatures roaming the store to the miniature door set into its entrance. Its selection of books is well-​curated — recommendations made at Wild Rumpus are not to be ignored! — and the events it hosts are great for kids.

I had a blast at this funky bookstore when I walked in TWO chickens furry greeted me there is cats ferrets rabbits rat birds its very neat very cool atmosphere love it! the books are great to but I go for the animals :-)

Animals and books are the best combination! Bonus– stop by at Great Harvest Bread for some fresh baked goodies!

Seriously the best children’s bookstore I’ve ever been too. The staff knows and loves the books as much as they do their young patrons.

Such a fun and well stocked book store. What really makes it unique and notable is that it is filled with animals! A wonderfully fun place to visit with children, or even just with adults who want books where they can also watch animals!
They really have a great thing going on here. Most bookstores are peaceful, inviting places, but this one has such a friendly ambiance that it really stands out.

It is a neat place – lots of interesting and unusual books for children. The chickens walking around are certainly exciting for the kids.
The staff is unbelievably rude. None of them ever greeted or spoke to us and it took some work to get one of the four people behind the counter to check us out.

This is one of those places that everyone loves because it’s got a basic necessity (books) with a super fun twist (animals!).
Linden Hills is on the other side of the city from us but it was an adventure day so to Wild Rumpus we went! The kiddo listed off her must-see’s during the drive: tarantula, chickens, ferrets and kitties. She didn’t know about the hairless rats in the spooky book house!
Wild Rumpus is like a tiny children’s museum with books for everyone. Cozy nooks here and there, cool window displays, and details, details, details. I could spend all day in this place.
When we were in on a Sunday afternoon the staff had an unfortunate computer issue that caused them to manually write down every ISBN. Still, they kept their cool. Their friendliness shown with apologetic smiles. The book shop brings on patience quite easily.

I love this place for the books (but then I love pretty much any bookstore), and the animals. It is pretty cool, and worth the trip if you have never been there.
However, the reason for my 3 stars is the staff. We have been there a few times, and every time we go the staff are beyond unfriendly. Almost rude. They have NO interest in interacting with the customers any more than absolutely necessary when you are spending your money in the store. And they are most definitely not kid people. Too bad since it seems to be marketed to kids.
Good thing they stock friendly animals otherwise there would be NO reason to go there.

I fell in love with this place before I even got there! We waited outside on a Sunday morning for 20 minutes before they opened. There was a crowd waiting to get in (good sign in my eyes). We walked in and instantly it felt like a fairy tale. It was very eclectic with the cats, chickens, and other animals they had dispersed around the store. We found hundreds of books we wanted to take home but decided on four since we know we will be returning. The girl that helped us was very pleasant and knowledgable.
We can’t wait to go back!

Such and awesome idea for a kid’s bookstore: Find a place with a magical, winding layout, fill it with awesome books and toys, and then add a handful of cats and other animals throughout the store.
This place is simply magical.

I didn’t originally plan on stopping in but after brunch at the Harriet Brasserie boyfriend and I walked by. There was a cat laying by the door which drew me in. It was very friendly. There was another cat by the entrance that was enjoying being pet by a little boy supervised by his mom. There were tons of creative, kid friendly books. My favorite part of the store was in the back where there were doves and cockatiels. Soooo adorable.

You gotta be a heartless human being devoid of any childish imagination to give this place a horrible review. Children’s books, roaming cats and chicken, caged rodents, what more can a kid (kid-​like adult) want?
Place gets crowed on the weekend. The space is small but cozy. Wifey, kid and I are going to frequent this place often. Someday I’ll take the little one to reading time when she has a reasonable attention span. If the readers there are half as good as me during bedtime, then she’ll love it!

I am a grown up and I love coming up here.
While I had a very happy childhood, I am extremely envious of American kids who got to spend their formative years visiting this store. Also, I wana have a baby soon, just so that I always will have a reason to come here. Maybe I am a kid at heart, but I love this place as much as I love Saks Fifth Ave.
Books, all kinds of books, foreign language, puzzles, canoe on the ceiling, chickens, cats, more cats, pet lizard. Some may say its a little cramped, but I love it. There is nothing like being completely surrounded by books and furry friendly animals. It adds to the charm and the ambiance of the place.
All of the staff here are amazing and I keep on coming back. Its the perfect place to take your little one for some reading time or if you need a gift, or simply if you need some pick me up, being around lizards is great for your health and well-​being.

Any business that has Chickens indiscriminately wandering around is ok with me.
Since all the Mpls libraries are closed on Mondays (lame), there are no story times to go on these days, but the Rumpus has «tale time» on Monday mornings to make up for it. It’s well done, but very crowded, and the few seats are fought over pretty violently.
The place needs a lot more space. While most bookstores can get away with that cramped bookstore feel, this place gets way more traffic than your average little book store, including children and wild animals (an indoor chicken run?).

It absolutely lives up to the hype. Some thoughts, in no particular order, about my visit with my 7-​year-​old:
There is a canoe making its way through beautifully crafted breaking ice. On the ceiling.
My 7-​year-​old attempted to pet a chicken. (We had a talk about why this is generally a Bad Idea, but the chicken took it in stride.)
The staff! So sweet and helpful and accommodating.
The place is simply bursting with books. Books everywhere. Big books, small books, in every crack and crevice, glittering like gems. It feels like something out of Harry Potter. I think this is what an indie bookshop on Diagon Alley must look like. And I love how they have them organized. You simply have to see this for yourself.
My space-​obsessed 7-​year-​old found an entire section devoted to space and spent a blissful half-​hour happily reading several space books on a cozy cushion in a back corner (we bought two of the books). For reference, this is a child who regularly erupts with random space facts at odd intervals. («Mama! Did you know that there are earthquakes on the moon? Only they are not called earthquakes; they are called ‘moonquakes.’»)
I got lost in a section on fairy tales and bedtime books for an additional 20 minutes. Again, there is an entire wall of JUST fairy-​tale, bedtime, read-​aloud, classic children’s stories. Robinson Crusoe. Peter Pan. Classic Pooh. I want to buy these for myself to relive my childhood.
We’ll be back. I can’t wait until my 8-​month-​old twins are old enough to enjoy this shop.

The moment my 14 year-​old got hold of an iPod, she set down her books for good. Er, unless we revoked the iPod, that is, because her grades were slipping or something. Then she’d return to old fashioned books, fleetingly, for a few chapters, maybe. But if she could exist in her own media wonderland, it would be digital and stuck in a cloud.
This bodes very, very badly for independent bookstores, especially because our daughter actually loves books. I’ve met a lot of kiddos in my time, and Aura is without question one of the nosiest bookworms of the lot; just a year ago, we’d bring home a haul from the library and she’d have the stack finished over a weekend. Her imagination, curiosity and thirst for adventure was unquenchable.
But books don’t «like» you. They don’t post pictures, or check in, or let you choose an emoticon. They’re far to real, honestly, to care.
Swinging through the vines of the Wild Rumpus rainforest, this attitude — an insistence on being Real — inhabited the place. Aptly titled, the Rumpus hops on a boat out to sea and never looks back to the shore. It plays games in the trees with a kid named Max and doesn’t give a damn whether you care. It’s a wonderland of books for peeps of all ages — and I do want to emphasize this, as the latest from Stephen Colbert sat on the front window — but the focus is on the kids, obviously, since our habits, good and bad, begin in those formative years. Feathered friends, creepy crawlies, soft purr balls and other creatures peep at you from the underbrush, and something’s always happening on the other end of the island.
Perhaps this is precisely the attitude the independent bookstore must adopt as our content finds itself on electronic devices, rather than the worn pages of loved books. It certainly appears to be a successful model for Wild Rumpus. As we were leaving, I caught a glimpse of a couple of little girls — younger, maybe 8 and 10 — entering the shop with an exuberance I’ve never witnessed in my life. So maybe they, and an army of others, are learning to disconnect from the digital realm and use their personal wiring to enjoy the world.
But somehow, I don’t quite buy it, and I’m really frightened about the future of the book. Thanks for trying to keep the dream alive, Wild Rumpus.