Curl Up and Stay a While: Inside the New Home of Amsterdam's Favourite Children's Bookshop

The Lowdown

The Kinderboekwinkel Amsterdam's original — and longest-running — dedicated children's bookshop has expanded into a considerably larger, light-filled space further up the road on the Rozengracht, where generous and impeccably curated selections sit alongside cozy nooks built for lingering, play areas for younger visitors and a small cafe for parents in need of a coffee break. A full programme of workshops rounds things out, turning what was once a quick errand into somewhere you might reasonably lose an hour or so. This is not a shop you pop into. This is a shop you visit — a beautiful, inspiring destination for book lovers and their little bookworms in the making. 

The Vibe:

Step inside and you'll immediately sense this is a different kind of bookshop — slick, beautifully designed and blissfully spacious (no small thing with little ones in tow). Settle into one of the inviting nooks with a flat white while your children enjoy their latest purchases, colour, play or join a workshop, surrounded by walls lined with books.

Ask a question and you'll quickly discover the friendly staff are genuinely passionate about books, offering expert, tailored recommendations, whether to you or directly to your child, based on their taste, reading age and ability.

Inside the Aisles:

Navigating children's bookshops can sometimes feel like guesswork — instead, this is a masterclass in organisation. Sections are clearly divided by reading ability, for example: Prentenboeken for the smallest hands, Voorlezen for read-aloud favourites, Beginnend Lezen for those starting out and Jeugd for the older, more independent readers.  

There's also a dedicated English-language section, with further English titles tucked into the classics shelves for good measure. And it isn't just fiction — parenting, cookery and countless other subjects all have their place here too, curated with the same discerning eye as everything else.

Throughout the shop you'll also find beautifully made puzzles, board games and tasteful toys sitting comfortably alongside the books — this is, in other words, prime cadeautje territory.

Worth The Hype?

Amsterdam is a city with an abundance of beautiful bookshops, however what the Kinderboekwinkel has built is something rarer — a space entirely devoted to the business of turning children into readers, considered down to the last detail and clearly a labour of genuine love. This is a shop built to inspire young readers rather than merely sell to them…and that, in the end, is what makes it so worth the visit.