Phil Padwe is accustomed to stares from strangers — particularly when he wears short-sleeved shirts.

That’s because Padwe’s arms are covered with so many tattoos that he has tattoo “sleeves” — a wrist-to-shoulder palette that includes tattooed portraits of poets such as Ralph Waldo Emerson.

But it still pains him, says Padwe, when he’s riding in the elevator of his Manhattan apartment building and a child recoils at the sight of the tattoos.

“That hurts a heck of a lot more than if I walk into a store and the manager follows me around,” says Padwe, 34.

So a few years ago, when Padwe’s friends began having children, he began thinking about the perfect baby gift.

Typically, he gave expectant couples the standard Phil baby gift: an illustrated children’s book. “I must have gone through a dozen copies of “Where the Wild Things Are,”‘ he says. That is, until he was struck by an idea:

Why not give a children’s book about people with tattoos — especially because many of his friends have tattoos?

And thus, “Mommy Has a Tattoo,” was born. In the book, which Padwe wrote and illustrated, a little boy, James, is afraid of a heavily tattooed neighbor until he realizes that his mom has a tattoo, too.

“I wanted to keep it simple,” says Padwe. “I didn’t want to get into really heavy questions or pass judgments. It’s about teaching tattoo tolerance.”

Tattoo tolerance may not be hard to preach nowadays. Although they were once associated with sailors, bikers and carnies, tattoos have become so mainstream that they can be found gracing the flesh of housewives, sorority sisters and males of every persuasion. A 2004 Harris survey found that 49 percent of Americans ages 18-29 have a tattoo.

Padwe, who has spent the past few years marketing diapers and other baby products online, realized he had hit upon something that no one had broached.

Now he has created his own publishing company and is selling the hardcover children’s book on his Web site, mommyhastattoos.com, and at tattoo conventions and some tattoo shops.

“I think it’s kind of cool,” says Deana Lippens, owner of Deana’s Skin Art Studio in Christmas. She bought a copy of the book at a convention a few months ago.

Lippens has seen tattoos gain acceptance in society, but she admits that her tattoos still draw a lot of stares, particularly from children.

“When I go to grocery stores, I have a lot of kids who look at me and say, ‘Hey Mommy, look at that!’ ” says Lippens.

Inspired by this book, Padwe is also introducing a children’s coloring book based on tattoo designs and plans more children’s books on tattoos.

“Kids are just fascinated by tattoos,” says Padwe, thanks to the popularity of the temporary, wash-off kind.

“These days, kids are less afraid, but they’re still afraid of heavily tattooed people,” Padwe says. “The beauty of this book is, whatever your stance on tattoos — pro or con — it allows you to have a conversation with your kids about it.”

Phil Padwe hopes his children’s book helps kids understand the art’s popularity.