"I think it's nice to have a separate place [for kids], especially for people who want to stop with their kids for awhile and put them down," McLean said.
"It seems like a nice mixture of books and other things," she added.
But not all the shoppers were parents or children.
"I don't think it's just for kids," said Ken F. Morrison, an undergraduate at MIT.
"The person I'm shopping for is 21," said Morrison. "I think I could find something in here for her."
Although some observers worried that the bright lights the store displays at night might seem out of place in the mellow Harvard Square atmosphere, Rosen said there have been no complaints.
"A city is an organic thing and it keeps changing and evolving," Rosen said. "And I think this is a good change, to have a children's bookstore, to have a bright corner in the Square.