Travel Twin Cities: Wild Rumpus

There's this little bookstore hidden in Minneapolis. It's a quaint little place where the books are numerous as are the animals!  Today our cousin Melody with her baby and I with my sweet peas and buddies explored my ideal of a bookstore. Let me introduce you to Wild Rumpus.

Located in the Linden Hills neighborhood not far from Lake Harriet, Wild Rumpus is a dream.  It's the place where you can pull up a chair or a bench and just read without any distractions. 

No, forgive me.  That's not what I meant.  There are plenty of distractions.  Mostly coming in the form of  little beasts.

Including a 2 chickens who are welcome to roam the store freely, 2 cats who have the same privileges,

2 ferrets (who are nicely caged), a lizard named Spike, a tarantula, a chinchilla, 3 cockatiels, 2 doves, and a rat.  The rat lives in a cage under the floor boards.  You can see him through a glass window in the floor. 

And no, I couldn't walk over him without getting the heebie jeebies and nervously gagging and shuddering. 

But when there are good books to be had, nothing can stop you! You will read and read.  And Wild Rumpus has plenty of great books! 
Sweet Girlwas in heaven with books surrounding her floor to ceiling.  (who am I kidding?  I was in heaven!)  Squirt was in heaven with a gazillion nooks and crannies in which to hide (I on the other hand kept losing him!  I wasn't too worried since the store wasn't that big).  Seriously, there are a gazillion nooks and crannies which makes me love it even more!  I wouldn't want it any other way.  It's perfect just the way it is.

This was one of my favorite parts of the store.  Recycled Books.  Read: Used books.  And while they were a dollar, I was able to leave the store having spent only $2.  1 dollar for sugary treats and 1 dollar for a young reader's abridged version of Jane Eyre.  Sweet Girl will begin to read the classics before you know it.

Storygirl roamed around the store toggling back and forth between seeking out animals and reading books.  She could have spent 4 hours there and not been ready to leave.

And yet when it was time to go, everyone had had such a fulfilling experience, that we all left with smiles on our faces (and the promise of candy in the van)!

Highlights of Wild Rumpus: 

• the animals.  The favorites included:  the cats for Storygirl and Sweet Girl, the lizard and the birds for Sir, and the chickens for Squirt.  He would chase them behind the counter any chance he got.  He even walked away from the counter with me, waited for me to turn my back, and darted back over then when I did. He was a little stinker!
• the books.  For being a small, locally owned bookstore, their selection of books was incredible.  Literally, books were floor to ceiling
• the coat rack.  When you walk in the door, there is a place to hang your jackets so that you can enjoy the store without wearing a hot coat or lugging it around.
• the door.  An adult door had a small child-sized purple door built into it.  It was perfect.

Disadvantages:

• the parking leaves much to be desired, especially in the winter.  It's only street parking, so once we parked, we had to walk quite a ways to get to the store.  However, that could also be due to the fact that I don't have parking assistant in my car and it's been 17 years since I took my driver's test and had to pass that part.  Now, I just circle the block until I find a spot big enough to fit into!  Or park a long ways away.
• swanky.  Linden Hills is a very swanky neighborhood.  However, I did not feel out of place once in the store.  The store is so down to earth that  I felt like everyone else there except that I didn't have tortoise-shell eyewear and I wasn't wearing a black puffy coat.

I would recommend Wild Rumpus to anyone who loves books, young or old, who has children, young or old, and who wants the ultimate book heaven adventure.

Posted with permission from Wild Rumpus.