Red Balloon Bookshop

Red Balloon Bookshop Locally-owned, independent bookshop since 1984! Red Balloon opened in 1984, just four doors down from its current location.
(585)

Red Balloon Bookshop has been helping children, teens, and adults in the Twin Cities connect with great books and great authors for more than 35 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 reade

rs 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)! 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 story 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

Grab your notebook and pencils! At this new tie-in to Red Balloon’s summer reading program, kids aged 8-16 are invited t...
06/08/2026

Grab your notebook and pencils! At this new tie-in to Red Balloon’s summer reading program, kids aged 8-16 are invited to join us every other Tuesday afternoon in June through August for some free creative time. 🌟 🎨 ✏️

Join us for the inaugural Club Create on June 9 from 4-6:00pm! 🎈

What a Grand Old Day! ☀️ Huge thanks to all the friends who joined Red Balloon in the parade this year! 🎈In addition to ...
06/07/2026

What a Grand Old Day! ☀️ Huge thanks to all the friends who joined Red Balloon in the parade this year! 🎈

In addition to staff and family we had readers from our Middle Grade Book Club, our Teens Read Book Club, our (Not-So) Young Adult Book Club, and fantastic authors Matt Eicheldinger, Louise Aamodt, Cristina Oxtra, Mark Ceilley, Peter Pearson, and Payal Doshi 💫 📚

Grand Old Day is tomorrow! ☀️ We’ll be open post-parade until 5pm. We will also have booksellers and local authors in th...
06/06/2026

Grand Old Day is tomorrow! ☀️ We’ll be open post-parade until 5pm. We will also have booksellers and local authors in the parade, so look out for the big red balloon! 🎈AND our summer reading bingo and bookmark art contest officially launch tomorrow. We’ll see you on Grand for the official kick-off to Summer in St. Paul!

Our summer stuffy sleepover is fast approaching on June 28! Grab a ticket (or 2) for your kiddo’s stuffy to make very ad...
06/05/2026

Our summer stuffy sleepover is fast approaching on June 28! Grab a ticket (or 2) for your kiddo’s stuffy to make very adorable memories at their favorite bookstore! We can’t wait for one of the cutest events of our store!!

Ticket price includes the goodie bag contents which includes one book* and mementos of your kiddo’s stuffy’s adventures!

Link is in our bio!

*we have different book options so siblings won’t get repeats!

We’re so excited to kick off summer with Meenal Patel this Saturday at a storytime celebration of WHERE DO STORIES LIVE?...
06/04/2026

We’re so excited to kick off summer with Meenal Patel this Saturday at a storytime celebration of WHERE DO STORIES LIVE? There will be a read-aloud, neat art, goodies, and more! 🌱

This event is free to attend. Visit our website or the link in our bio for details 🎈

Summer is here, and we’re kicking it off with Grand Old Day, a new creative club, some awesome author visits, and many s...
06/03/2026

Summer is here, and we’re kicking it off with Grand Old Day, a new creative club, some awesome author visits, and many storytimes and book clubs! Hope to see you at the bookstore! ❤️☀️📚

Storytime alert! Join Daniel Bernstrom at Red Balloon this Saturday for a read-aloud of his new picture book, THE DUMPED...
05/28/2026

Storytime alert! Join Daniel Bernstrom at Red Balloon this Saturday for a read-aloud of his new picture book, THE DUMPED TRUCK along with storytime favorites, A BEAR, A MAN, AND A DONUT VAN and SONG IN THE CITY. 🚛🍩🎶

We love Daniel’s funny and sweet rhyming picture books and know you will too! This event is free to attend. 🎈

We are closed on Monday for Memorial Day, but we’ll be back on Tuesday! 🎈📚
05/24/2026

We are closed on Monday for Memorial Day, but we’ll be back on Tuesday! 🎈📚

We’re so excited for our storytime with Joanna Ho next Tuesday in honor of her new picture book, A ROOM WITH A VIEW! 🏕️ ...
05/22/2026

We’re so excited for our storytime with Joanna Ho next Tuesday in honor of her new picture book, A ROOM WITH A VIEW! 🏕️ We’ll have treats, mini tents (for any stuffies kids may want to bring!), and more to celebrate this sweet, funny story about summertime outdoor adventures.

This event is free to attend. Learn more at our website or the link in our bio 🎈

Mary Casanova will be at Red Balloon this Saturday for a storytime! Enjoy a read-aloud of her gorgeous new picture book,...
05/22/2026

Mary Casanova will be at Red Balloon this Saturday for a storytime! Enjoy a read-aloud of her gorgeous new picture book, NORTHWOODS LULLABY, along with the beloved classic, ONE-DOG CANOE! (As told by puppets, perhaps??) 🛶🌲

This event is free to the public. If the weather is nice, we may be out on our patio! 🎈

Address

891 Grand Avenue
Saint Paul, MN
55105

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 7pm
Tuesday 10am - 7pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 7pm
Friday 10am - 7pm
Saturday 10am - 7pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+16512248320

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Red Balloon Bookshop posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Red Balloon Bookshop:

Shortcuts

Share

Category