I've spent part of the summer catching up with friends and family in America. Anyone travelling with me knows that a road trip is incomplete without an exploration of the local indie children's book store. This dream of a bookstore, Wild Rumpus, is tucked away in a residential neighbourhood in Minneapolis, MN and was worth the entire trip. The entrance is a passage to an enchanting world with a small purple door for smaller people built within the larger one for grown ups. Inside not one but four lazy cats drape themselves across shelves, counters and comfy chairs. There's an iguana named Spike, several ferrets and a free range chicken who peeks out at you from behind the stacks. And all of this excitement is before you even have a chance to marvel at the stock of children's book titles.
I've never seen so many Maurice Sendak and Leo Lionni titles in one place except maybe online. Oh the joy to peruse them in the flesh! The vintage picture book collection was incredibly impressive and the range of current titles and new authors was equally exciting. Some of the authors I hope to feature in upcoming posts include David Mackintosh, Alison McGhee and Eva Muggenthaler.
A trip to Wild Rumpus is like getting a big hug from a book. The set up of the whole shop encourages you to browse, pet the animals and bounce a little to the music. I particularly like the books set aside for visitors. Instead of the throw away basket of forgotten titles they have entire shelves of books designated just for reading in store. The new books for sale are grouped by author in some sections and by an endless list of subjects in others. How inviting so see a shelf full of 'cars', 'trains', 'cats', 'dragons' and so on. If you find yourself anywhere near the Twin Cities then make sure to save some time for a visit to Wild Rumpus. And for the rest of you at least check it out online www.wildrumpusbooks.com.
Be back soon! Mrs B.
