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Sensational Kids | Therapy, Toys & Training

‍Founded in 2007, Sensational Kids offers therapy, toys and training with Centres in Counties Kildare (based in Kildare town); Claremorris, County Mayo; Clonakilty, West Cork; and Clones, County Monaghan.

‍Toy & Resource Store: They run an online and physical shop selling a wide range of educational toys, sensory products and learning resources.

‍Therapy Services: They provide occupational therapy, speech & language therapy, play therapy, educational psychology assessments, and reading tuition for children with additional needs such as autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, Down syndrome, ADHD, and other developmental or learning difficulties.

Training & Workshops: They offer professional development for teachers, therapists, and parents.

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Thinking Toys - Special Needs Toys and Sensory Toys Ireland

Aids on this site provide a whole-child approach to support (sensory, emotional, social, educational, and physical).

For example, with sensory issues, the use of a sensory aid like theraputty can be a calming aid to a child who is anxious or stressed.

Once underlying issues are addressed, it can help make reading less traumatic for children with difficulties.

https://childrensbooksireland.ie/

Children’s Books Ireland is the national charity and arts organisation that champions every child’s right to develop a love of reading. Our mission is to inspire a love of reading in children and young people in Ireland, to share our expertise and enthusiasm with the adults who guide and influence them, to champion every child’s right to excellent books and live literature events and support the artists who make that goal possible across the island of Ireland. To find out more about our work visit our website childrensbooksireland.ie

https://talesfortadpoles.ie/

ales for Tadpoles is an independent Irish bookshop and gift shop that opened its doors in Bray in 2022, after a stint in Dublin’s City Centre. The shop embraces a beautifully curated mix of stunning illustrated books—both new and secondhand—as well as prints, stationery, and gifts inspired by children’s literature. Many offerings are by international illustrators, alongside a strong focus on Irish artists and authors. The shop was shortlisted for the British Book Awards Independent Bookshop of the Year in 2025.

https://halfwayupthestairs.ie/

Halfway up the Stairs which opened in October 2019 is a small independent local children’s bookshop. It houses an inclusive and diverse collection from picture books to teen and young adult titles while also supporting Irish children’s literature. It has an active community events and school engagement programme and was named An Post Bookshop of the Year winner in 2023.

https://www.iesltd.ie/

Our 14,000 square foot facility includes many showrooms each complete with thousands of books all organised into age ranges, genres and categories. We welcome customers to pop over (on invite) and browse our extensive range of books.

IES has a section which parents might find useful. 2025 New Books For Reluctant Readers

https://nosycrow.com

Nosy Crown won the British Book Awards: Children’s Publisher of the Year 2025.

The company specialises in c‍hildren’s books for ages 0–12 (picture books, board books, fiction, non-fiction, audio, and e-books). I first came across this company in Harrogate, Yorkshire at a librarian conference in 2017 and have followed them with interest ever since.

“Nosy Crow is a multi-award-winning, independent children’s publishing company. We make child-focused, parent-friendly children’s books for ages 0-12 … we think carefully about covers, paper type and paper weight so that our books are attractive to look at and pleasing to hold. All our fiction appears simultaneously in print and e-book form, and many of our fiction titles are also available as audiobooks. All our paperback picture books and many of our baby and board books come with a free digital audio reading using an innovation we’ve called Stories Aloud. We’re building a library of audio-enhanced iBooks with text highlighting which are digital versions of our picture books” (Nosy Crow website).

‍In May 2023, Nosy Crow launched a United States company, Nosy Crow Inc. https://nosycrow.com

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