“You have to see this one!” a little girl called pulling her brother over to a shelf of new releases. She proceeded to read him PRESS HERE while they both slapped the book giggling with glee. When they were finished and had bounded away with ear to ear grins I had to see what all the fuss was about.
I came home from the bookstore with a copy of Press Here that night.
Why Press Here is Awesome
Herve Tullet is the author of many books. Most of them are a hoot, but Press Here is genius.
The goal of picture books is to get kids excited about reading, right?
To show them the magic of books. Of reading.
The truly excellent picture books appeal to children for a variety of reasons but emotion is often at the forefront. These books make us feel something that pulls us back in again and again.
Press Here makes us feel delight. Goofy, grinning ear to ear, laugh out loud, read it again delight.
11 More Books That Encourage Interaction
If you read Press Here and were delighted, you likely read Mix it Up and Let’s Play and after the millionth re-read of both you wondered, what other books are this interactive that will delight my child. Yeah?
Well you will be delighted to here that there are other authors who understand that sometimes kids like to get in on the action when it comes to picture books. Here are our other favorite interactive picture books.
1.The Black and White Factory by Eric Telchin
Everything is pristine in black and white factory. There are firm rules in place that make sure that messes, colors, and surprises are not allowed in the factory. Ever. The fun begins when an orange streak is discovered on a bar code. Can you wipe it away with your finger? Soon you are rubbing, swirling, and blowing the color to help clean it up, but in the end they might just learn that messes aren’t so bad after all.
2.Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson
This has a similar interactive quality combined with a beautiful discussion about changing seasons. Clap, brush, and rub a tree and watch it transform from leaf-less to budding to apple covered and more. Lovely illustrations and playful look at nature.
3. Touch the Brightest Star by Christie Matheson
This gentle book is interactive, but still makes for a great bedtime story. There is no vigorous shaking or shouting in this tale. Children are encouraged to tap a deer to say goodnight, trace the dipper, whisper to the moon and more. Beautiful collage illustrations depict the sky turning to night and then back to early day. There is some bonus information at the end of the book on what makes nighttime seem so magical.
4.Don’t Wake the Tiger by Britta Teckentrup
If your child likes interactive books where they are encouraged to touch, pat, or even rock the book then this is for you. The sweet animals in this book are trying to tip toe past tiger without waking him up. The reader gets to help by putting the tiger back to sleep with nose pats and lullabies until a balloon pops and tiger wakes up to a surprise. This is such a fun book illustrated with Teckentrup’s typical gentle flair.
5.This Book is Out of Control by Richard Byrne
In this silly book Ben has a remote control toy but the remote control doesn’t appear to be working. He tests out every button and the toy doesn’t do what it should. The reader however notices that the remote seems to affect Ben’s dog. An out of control story that will have your child laughing out loud. This one has less interaction for the reader than some, but my kids couldn’t help but touch all the buttons and the last page begs the reader to fix the out of control book.
6.Bunny Slopes by Claudia Rueda
Want to help the bunny ski? Well with a shake, some taps and a tilt you can do just that. This fun interactive book is full of humor and excitement of the wintery variety.
7. Don’t Push the Button! by Bill Cotter
Well you tell a kid not to push a button and that is of course all they are going to want to do. Knowing that, Cotter has created a funny book playing to this childhood truth. This one reminds me a lot of the classic There’s a Monster at the End of this Book which is less interactive but also a hoot if you haven’t already read it. Bill Cotter also wrote Don’t Touch This Book.
8. This Book is Magic by Ashley Evanson
With your magic finger and special magic phrases you can make things disappear, fireworks explode and more. This is a fun interactive book with bright, bold illustrations.
9. I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton
This one has a little less interaction that some, but the parts that exist are hilarious and the whole book is laugh-out-loud funny while imparting a surprising amount of information about spiders on the way. This is a favorite in our house right now.
10. Tap to Play by Salina Yoon
Blip needs your help to win his game. Bounce, tilt, shake and tickle him to help in this fun interactive book from the author of the darling Penguin series. (Find a whole list of titles by Salina Yoon in this post!)
11. I’m the Fire Engine Driver
by David Semple
For the kid on your lap who loves to interact with their book (think PRESS HERE) this is a fun fire engine story. The text encourages you to label things, push controls, count to 20 and more. A fantastic pick for a kid who loves fire engines and wants to give it a try. It is energetic, interactive, and walks you through a call.
