Indigo/Chapters
Babar Books
Nicholas Hoare
Renaud-Bray

Indigo/Chapters
Book stores are great places to hang out with kids. Parents always feel good about reading and prefer to spend money on books than made-in-China plastic objects. Indigo book stores all have separate childrens’ sections, but they differ in levels of child-friendliness. There are four major Indigo/Chapters locations in Montreal: downtown, Pointe Claire, Brossard and Laval. All three of these locations have changing tables in the washrooms. It’s good to know that all of them stay open to 9 or 10 p.m. nightly, in case you’re looking for an early evening or post-dinner activity.

Indigo Laval opened in fall 2009, with a spatious children’s section that includes beanbag chairs, a giant teacup where parents and kids can sit and read, plus a work table for children, with colouring paper and crayons. It has probably the best of the Indigo/Chapters’ children’s sections in Montreal. Staff read stories to kids when the section gets busy. There is also a Thomas the Train table, play kitchen, easel and plastic fruit stand. In the surrounding shopping centre, there are several restaurant options for lunch. Read I Spy Montreal Guided Tour of Laval Indigo.

Chapters Pointe Claire (view map) has the second-best children’s section of the four, with enough to keep toddlers up to five-year-olds occupied for up to an hour. Aside from browsing books, there’s a Thomas the Train table and a play kitchen. There’s also a large selection of good-quality toys and art supplies to look at. If you have a chance, hit the Starbucks upstairs, before heading to the kids stuff (munchkins will get a kick out of riding the escalators). In the same strip mall, there’s: Toys R Us, a few restaurants, Minimod children’s barber, a pet store, Maxi grocery store, and Thyme maternity.

Address: 6321 Transcanada Highway, #1410 (view map)
Telephone: 514-428-5500

Indigo Quartier Dix30 (view map) also has a great selection of books and toys, and a Thomas the Train table. Since it’s located in the Dix30 shopping centre, which houses every imaginable store and service for grownups, a stop at the bookstore is a nice, half-hour break for the kids.

Address: 9320 Leduc Blvd., Brossard (view map)
Telephone: 450-462-8396

The Indigo in Place Montreal Trust, (view map)on the fourth floor of Place Montreal Trust, has a separate children’s section, but it’s the least child-friendly of the three: nowhere to sit and no hands-on toys. That said, if you grab some kids books and find seating outside the kids’ section, you can have fun investigating new bedtime stories.

Address: 1500 McGill College Ave. (fourth floor) (view map)
Telephone: 514-281-5549

Babar Books (view map)
This 20-year-old children’s book specialist definitely has kids at heart, with a huge selection of books and toys. If you don’t live in the West Island, you can visit the Greene Ave. location in Westmount, called Babar en Ville.
Address: 46 Ste. Anne Ave., Pointe Claire (view map)
Telephone: 514-694-0380

Babar en Ville
Address: 1235 Greene Ave., Westmount (view map)
Telephone: 514-931-0606

Nicholas Hoare (view map)
This Greene Ave. bookstore has a great, old-world library feeling. There’s a nice selection of children’s books on the bottom level – lots of hardcover classics and beautifully illustrated books. No Diego/Dora/Max&Ruby or other TV tie-ins here! Although there are a couple of small chairs in the kids’ area, there’s nowhere for parents to sit so it’s not the best place for hanging out. This would be a better place to go if you happen to be by yourself and want to buy a children’s book for a gift or surprise. Older children, who know not to ransack the displays, will find a good selection of young adult fiction.

Address: 1366 Greene Ave., Westmount (view map); also a branch in Ogilvy department store, 1307 Ste. Catherine St. W.
Telephone: 514-933-4201

Renaud-Bray
For French books, Renaud-Bray stores typically have great children’s sections, with lots of toys as well. There’s lots to look at, although there are not necessarily areas for sitting down to look at books. There are many locations around Montreal. To see a list, go to:
http://www.renaud-bray.com/Informations_Boutiques.aspx