For tattooed parents
Children’s books about tattoos: a parent’s list
When a little one starts asking about your ink, a picture book gives you both the words and the pictures to point at. These are the children’s books about tattoos we’d hand any tattooed family, from a board book for babies to a read-aloud for curious kids. Two of them are ours, and we’ll say so when we get there.
Picture books with tattooed parents
Tell Me a Tattoo Story
A little boy asks his dad about the tattoos on his arms, and each one turns out to hold a piece of the dad’s life: a story his mother used to tell him, his years in the military, the people he loves. It’s the classic of the shelf, and the one most often recommended.
Best for: dads with a story behind every sleeve.
My Mama Is a Work of Art
A colorful, loving celebration of a tattooed mom, and a gentle way into the bigger idea that families look different and that’s a good thing.
Best for: tattooed moms, and kids learning to celebrate differences.
My Dad Used to Be So Cool
A kid looks at his dad and wonders where the cool guy went: the one who played in a band, rode a motorcycle and got tattoos. It’s funny and sweet, with a wink for the grown-up doing the reading.
Best for: a laugh at bedtime, and dads who’ve traded the band van for the minivan.
My First Book of Tattoos
A sturdy board book for babies and toddlers that shows families with tattoos, so the very first pictures they see look like home.
Best for: the littlest readers, and baby-shower gifts for tattooed parents.
My Parents Have Tattoos
Written by a Colorado tattoo artist and his wife, this one walks kids through different kinds of tattoos and where people put them, and it’s clear about choice: having tattoos or not is up to each person. It grew out of their own family’s experience in a small town. (Read more about it.)
Best for: talking about choices and respecting people who choose differently.
Mommy and Daddy Have Tattoos
We wrote this one for the kids who ask. A curious little one learns that every swirl and splash on Mom and Dad’s skin holds a tale, told in bouncy read-aloud rhyme with watercolor on every spread. A key in the back helps you tell the real stories behind your own ink, and two coloring pages let kids design their own.
Best for: the “what’s that?” age, read with a finger pointing at every tattoo. Read the first pages free.
And one for the grandparents
Our Kids Have Tattoos
When the grown kids come home with ink, Mom and Dad aren’t sure what to think, until they start asking. A picture book for the parents and grandparents of tattooed adults, and a sweet gift from a tattooed kid to the folks who raised them.
Best for: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or the first holiday home with a new sleeve. Read the first pages free.
How to pick one
- Match the age. Board books for babies, rhyme and big pictures for preschoolers, a fuller story for early readers.
- Match the ink. A tattooed dad might start with Tell Me a Tattoo Story; a tattooed mom with My Mama Is a Work of Art.
- Story or ideas? Some of these tell one family’s tale; others talk about choices and differences. Both are worth having.
- Read it together, sleeves up. The best part of any of these is stopping to point at your own arm and saying, “Want to know why I got this one?”
Keep the conversation going
Not sure what to say when they ask? Our guide on how to explain tattoos to kids has simple words for every age, plus answers to “Did it hurt?” and “Can I get one?” And for a rainy afternoon, grab our free coloring pages, including a design-your-own-tattoo page.
Know a children’s book about tattoos we missed? Tell us at [email protected] and we’ll take a look.