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Tell Me a Tattoo Story


Tell Me a Tattoo Story
By Alison McGhee
Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Chronicle Books, 2016. Picture Book.

As a young boy goes through his nightly routine of getting ready for bed he asks his father to tell him again what each of his tattoos mean. The father goes on to explain the story behind each like the dragon on his shoulder from a story book his mother use to read to him as child and the words “Be Kind” tattooed on the inside of his wrist because he always wants to remember those words from his father. Just as he is tucked into bed, the boy asks about his favorite, a tiny heart with a date on it, and the father tells him it’s his favorite, too, because it represents the young boy. A loving bedtime story shared between a father and son. Illustrated in India ink and watercolor, it replicates the feel of real tattoo ink.

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