About Us
Welcome to Tales for Tadpoles!
We are an independent Irish bookshop and gift shop, founded and operated by me, Caroline Sullivan. Our shop is a place for people of all ages who love illustration and picture books. We carefully select our range from the most innovative and iconic illustrators worldwide, from classic to contemporary. As well as books, we sell the most beautiful prints, gifts, and homewares we can find. Everything is designed by illustrators, or inspired by children's literature.
We believe you're never too old to enjoy illustrated books; in fact, some of the greatest picture books are created with adult audiences in mind.
Now, more on why I set up Tales for Tadpoles:
I have always loved books, but never more so than when I was a child. I lived and breathed books. My dad always called his books his “friends” and I completely related. The books I loved were read and reread, taken down just to be looked at, and genuinely thought of all the time by me. They taught me about the world, about empathy, about family, about love, about being a good person … everything. I don’t say this lightly. I believe my childhood books, and my love of reading, were a sanctuary for me, and I credit my books with giving me a sense of balance and independence.
As a young adult I hadn’t a clue what I wanted to do, or who I wanted to be, so I got a few office jobs which I hated and knew weren’t for me, but they enabled me to save money to travel the word in my mid-twenties. It was somewhere along this trip, in Australia particularly, that I had my epiphany: I wanted to open a bookshop. There was one shop in Melbourne that inspired me in particular – it was a shop only selling prints from the ”Golden Age of Illustration” – Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac and such giants of illustration. And there were a lot of gorgeous second-hand bookshops in Australia that I found inspiring also - so much attention to creating a comfortable and inviting space to spend a few hours in.
I returned home to an economic crash and life on the dole. Starting off like this, with nothing, allowed me to focus on what I actually wanted to do. I got a job in Hodges Figgis: one of the very best bookshops in Ireland. Here I learnt impeccable customer service from my colleagues on the floor, and delightedly, I re-entered the wonderful world of children’s books.
Hodges Figgis stock everything, so all the commercial books as well as all the most beautiful books in the world. I found myself gifting my adult friends various books from the “children’s section” and wondered how they, or any adult, would know to find these beautiful, profound works of art, in a section that is apparently just for children? And a little seed of what was to become Tales for Tadpoles was born … I wanted a shop filled with the most gorgeous gift books – books that are often categorised as “children’s” but are really for everyone - that adults could feel they could shop for themselves or other adults, as well as for children.
I left my job in Hodges Figgis in 2014 and started off small by selling in market stalls to gauge interest. Encouraged, I went from that to a two-week pop-up, then to a six month pop-up, until in 2016 I opened our first permanent shop on Dublin’s Drury Street. The name “Tales for Tadpoles” was thought up by my very creative husband Micheál, who combined my life-long love of frogs (!) with my life-long love of books.
We spent 6 and a half happy years on Drury Street, but in the meantime I had had two children and moved to Bray with my family, so in 2022 it was time to move my shop closer to home.
Bray, for those of you who don't know, is a beautiful seaside town and our shop is on Albert Walk, which is right by the DART station, very near the seafront, and surrounded by other fantastic businesses. We now have the space to offer coffee, to host Storytelling and author events, as well as hosting crafting workshops. We love our new home!
I created Tales for Tadpoles as a place where adults can shop for themselves and our lovely, loyal customer base has proven that we were needed. Of course, we're also passionate about putting the best books into children's hands. My team of expert booksellers is always happy to recommend a book for your children, nieces, nephews, students and family friends; from babies to teens.
Don't worry if you can't make it to Wicklow, though: we ship worldwide and you can find our full range online. Please get in touch if you have any questions.
Happy browsing!