Why Wild Rumpus in Linden Hills is unlike any other bookstore: Cats, chinchillas and 15K books

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A south Minneapolis bookstore has been inspiring young readers and their families for decades with its unique blend of whimsy, animals and a love for storytelling.

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Celebrating decades of imagination, community

What we know:

Wild Rumpus Books, located in the Linden Hills neighborhood, has been a staple for children and families for more than 30 years. The store stands out for its welcoming environment, creative displays and a focus on making reading fun for kids.

Customers say the shop is more than just a place to buy books. 

"It's just a great easy place to hang out," said Susan Schnek. "It's just a fun place to bring kids and there is nothing better I think than getting kids into books."

The store's atmosphere is described as calm and peaceful, with one customer, Dan Thiede, sharing, "The rule is each kid can leave with one book each time. And they really love it." Another customer, Abbey Becker, said, "We just love the environment here.  My daughter actually calls it the kitty cat bookstore because they have two cats running around and there are lots of chairs for the kids to sit on and read the books and sit with the kitties. We just love it here."

The shop features a little purple door for pint-sized visitors and is filled with whimsical touches, from a canoe on the ceiling to a spooky shed housing mysteries and Halloween-themed books.

A bookstore that’s also an experience

What they're saying:

Co-owner Tim Otte said, "The vibe is welcoming and being excited. The vibe is, hey, look at this. But the vibe is curiosity, I guess." 

Otte explained that the store is named after a line from the classic children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" and is meant to be more of an experience than a traditional bookstore.

"We think about books as portals to the kinds of worlds that we can imagine together and hopefully that portal works both ways. And we can take some of the really great ideas that we find in literature and bring them into the world and make them a reality for us," said Otte

Wild Rumpus is also home to a menagerie of animals, including two cats, a dove, a cockatiel, a crested gecko, two chinchillas and a secret aquarium of fish behind a mirror in the bathroom. 

"Why not? I think it helps with that imagination, right? I think animals are a very fundamental part of the world that we live in. Nature itself is a fundamental part of the world that we live in. Connecting with one another through stories is one way of being in the world. But being literally in the world and in nature is another way," said Otte.

The store’s shelves are stocked with 15,000 titles, and every corner is designed to spark curiosity and creativity in its youngest visitors.

A new chapter for a neighborhood favorite

The backstory:

Wild Rumpus Books was opened in 1992 by Collette Morgan and Thomas Braun. It quickly became a neighborhood institution, even earning the title of Bookstore of the Year from Publisher's Weekly nearly a decade ago.

After Braun passed away and Morgan wanted to retire a couple of years ago, the future of the store was uncertain. Jessica Fuentes, one of four employees, decided to step in and help buy the business to keep it going. 

"Because I really loved this place and I didn't want to see it go. So mostly we just wanted to keep it alive and just keep continuing it on," said Fuentes, now a co-owner.

Fuentes described working at Wild Rumpus as a dream. 

"It's definitely the best place to work. It feels like a dream being surrounded by books and by kids is always a fun thing to be around," said Fuentes.

Customers and staff alike hope the store will continue to be a place where the written word and creativity are celebrated. 

"You want to make sure that the written word and the illustration, the creativity on paper, the beauty of discovery in books continues,"