Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 10:00am - 7:00pm | Sunday: 12:00pm - 5:00pm

Red Balloon will be closed early on Wednesday, March 20 at 5:30pm to set up for an event.

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Red Balloon Story

Red Balloon Bookshop 2014

Red Balloon Bookshop has been helping children, teens, and adults in the Twin Cities connect with great books and great authors for more than 39 years!

Located on historic Grand Avenue in Saint Paul, Red Balloon is an independent, woman-owned children’s bookstore with a wide selection of books, toys, and gifts for all ages, from infants to adults. The bookstore is a great place to meet other readers and book-lovers, attend weekly storytimes, hear from bestselling visiting authors and illustrators, and find the perfect gift for a kid you know (or for yourself)!

Red Balloon opened in 1984, just four doors down from its current location. By 1989, the bookstore needed more space and it’s been in the grey house with the bears out front ever since. Holly Weinkauf has owned the store since 2011, when the original owners, Carol Erdahl and Michele Cromer-Poire, retired. Named after the film by Albert Lamorisse, Red Balloon Bookshop continues to be an imaginative and exciting place for kids and kids-at-heart. Come visit us!

2018 Winner of the WNBA Pannell Award for Children's Specialty Bookstore

 

OUR MISSION

Because of our love of reading and fun, Red Balloon Bookshop is dedicated to serving our community with books, gifts, and events that inspire, inform and entertain, helping children of all ages—and adults!—live imaginative and rich lives.

 

RED BALLOON BOOKSELLERS

Meet our staff! Click on any picture to learn more about each bookseller and some of their favorite books.