Mommy Has Tattoos is the first dedicated publisher of quality entertainment for today’s tattooed families. What that means is if you or your spouse have a tattoo, and have kids… we’re looking to provide your family with educational and entertaining books, ebooks, stories and apps! Tattooed families are just as close-knit, loving and affectionate as their non-tattooed counterparts… so we believe children should see parents who look like theirs, represented in the books they’re given to learn to read!
We’ve been around since 2007 when we first published the original (first edition) hardcover, Mommy Has A Tattoo. It was the first children’s book to feature tattooed parents and the first to feature a heavily tattooed character (The Tattooed Man!). We sold over 3,500 copies entirely by word-of-mouth and by hand, with our owner and author/illustrator Phil Padwe attending conventions around the country and making lots of new friends in the process.
We’ve also put out 2 coloring books over the past 5 years… Tattoo Coloring Book #1 and Tattoo Coloring Book #2. But we’re especially excited to be rolling out our second full length children’s picture book: Daddy Has A Tattoo!
Daddy Has A Tattoo, by Phil Padwe
Daddy Has A Tattoo features the little boy from our first book, James… who’s a toddler that loves his daddy’s tattoo! And his new best friend Polly is a little girl who loves parrots. Together they use their imaginations to try to solve a mystery! The story encourages imagination and teaches that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover… not when it comes to tattoos!
Why Now?
As the owner and author/illustrator, Phil Padwe is often asked some variation on the question,”Five or seven years ago, when you first came up with the books, it was more shocking to see a mommy or daddy with a bunch of tattoos… but what about now? Aren’t tattoos mainstream now?” His answer is, “Sure – tattoos have become mainstream. These days tattooed parents are visible everywhere… parks, playgrounds, schools, libraries… everywhere except children’s books!!!
“Sold out” author reading at Barnes & Noble in NJ
The fact is we were the very first publisher to feature tattooed characters… even though millions of American families have happily tattooed mommies and daddies! We’re not talking about thousands, or hundreds of thousands… but millions and millions of loving and adoring mommies and daddies, who proudly have tattoos. So we see a clear need to portray tattooed adults in a positive, family-friendly manner. Especially in children’s literature, where excluding tattooed people from books simply seems like an archaic, 20th century form of bias. In sum, we see the opportunity for a new kind of children’s book because we see our generation producing a new kind of parent.
Author/Illustrator Phil Padwe drawing for 2nd graders in New York City…
But it’s also important that children see characters they can relate with in the books they’re learning to read. That’s because children enjoy reading more, and toddlers enjoy learning to read more, when they can relate to the characters in their books! Young children with tattooed parents will naturally relate to a story with a tattooed mommy, or a tattooed daddy.
Children are also naturally fascinated with tattoos! Major corporations like Disney and Mattel have been packaging temporary tattoos with their toys and videos for decades. You can leverage your child’s natural fascination with tattoos to encourage them to read! Which would make you a very smart parent. And the coolest part is… children who have fun reading as toddlers, tend to enjoy reading more later on. That can be a major advantage in school… where doing well, of course, can lead to major, lifelong advantages!
Mommy Has A Tattoo has been carried by a diverse group of selective retailers, including Marc Jacobs (Little Marc Jacobs children’s boutique), The Philadelphia Maritime Museum, and Ricky’s NYC, to name just a few! Mommy Has A Tattoo, and the brand-new Daddy Has A Tattoo, also make great gifts!!! Nothing shows camaraderie like a lighthearted, likeminded, gift between tattooed friends!
Worldwide…
Mommy Has A Tattoo has now been translated and published overseas and is available in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria as “Mami Hat Ein Tattoo!” Here in the USA, the book is available here on our website, or at Amazon.com. We’ve sold over 3,000 copies (and counting), makingMommy Has A Tattoo a best selling self-published children’s book!
About Us
Mommy Has Tattoos is the first dedicated publisher of quality entertainment for today’s tattooed families. What that means is if you or your spouse have a tattoo, and have kids… we’re looking to provide your family with educational and entertaining books, ebooks, stories and apps! Tattooed families are just as close-knit, loving and affectionate as their non-tattooed counterparts… so we believe children should see parents who look like theirs, represented in the books they’re given to learn to read!
Our Start:
We’ve been around since 2007 when we first published the original (first edition) hardcover, Mommy Has A Tattoo. It was the first children’s book to feature tattooed parents and the first to feature a heavily tattooed character (The Tattooed Man!). We sold over 3,500 copies entirely by word-of-mouth and by hand, with our owner and author/illustrator Phil Padwe attending conventions around the country and making lots of new friends in the process.
We’ve also put out 2 coloring books over the past 5 years… Tattoo Coloring Book #1 and Tattoo Coloring Book #2. But we’re especially excited to be rolling out our second full length children’s picture book: Daddy Has A Tattoo!
Daddy Has A Tattoo features the little boy from our first book, James… who’s a toddler that loves his daddy’s tattoo! And his new best friend Polly is a little girl who loves parrots. Together they use their imaginations to try to solve a mystery! The story encourages imagination and teaches that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover… not when it comes to tattoos!
Why Now?
As the owner and author/illustrator, Phil Padwe is often asked some variation on the question,”Five or seven years ago, when you first came up with the books, it was more shocking to see a mommy or daddy with a bunch of tattoos… but what about now? Aren’t tattoos mainstream now?” His answer is, “Sure – tattoos have become mainstream. These days tattooed parents are visible everywhere… parks, playgrounds, schools, libraries… everywhere except children’s books!!!
The fact is we were the very first publisher to feature tattooed characters… even though millions of American families have happily tattooed mommies and daddies! We’re not talking about thousands, or hundreds of thousands… but millions and millions of loving and adoring mommies and daddies, who proudly have tattoos. So we see a clear need to portray tattooed adults in a positive, family-friendly manner. Especially in children’s literature, where excluding tattooed people from books simply seems like an archaic, 20th century form of bias. In sum, we see the opportunity for a new kind of children’s book because we see our generation producing a new kind of parent.
But it’s also important that children see characters they can relate with in the books they’re learning to read. That’s because children enjoy reading more, and toddlers enjoy learning to read more, when they can relate to the characters in their books! Young children with tattooed parents will naturally relate to a story with a tattooed mommy, or a tattooed daddy.
Children are also naturally fascinated with tattoos! Major corporations like Disney and Mattel have been packaging temporary tattoos with their toys and videos for decades. You can leverage your child’s natural fascination with tattoos to encourage them to read! Which would make you a very smart parent. And the coolest part is… children who have fun reading as toddlers, tend to enjoy reading more later on. That can be a major advantage in school… where doing well, of course, can lead to major, lifelong advantages!
Mommy Has A Tattoo has been carried by a diverse group of selective retailers, including Marc Jacobs (Little Marc Jacobs children’s boutique), The Philadelphia Maritime Museum, and Ricky’s NYC, to name just a few! Mommy Has A Tattoo, and the brand-new Daddy Has A Tattoo, also make great gifts!!! Nothing shows camaraderie like a lighthearted, likeminded, gift between tattooed friends!
Worldwide…
Mommy Has A Tattoo has now been translated and published overseas and is available in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria as “Mami Hat Ein Tattoo!” Here in the USA, the book is available here on our website, or at Amazon.com. We’ve sold over 3,000 copies (and counting), makingMommy Has A Tattoo a best selling self-published children’s book!