Interactive books for kids

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, February 2018; written by Ann Marie Meiresonne.

Do you remember Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt? I remember time spent reading and rereading this interactive book with my children. Touching, opening and pulling to the delight of small fingers.

Pat the Bunny is still around along with other interactive books, and these are not electronic books with apps these are real, solid books that bring participation to the act of reading. Take some time to read one or more of these titles with a youngster and enjoy the discovery by touching, turning, shaking, tapping, spotting and moving along with these books.

For babies, the DK Touch and Feel books with titles such as Dinosaur, Shapes, 123, and Baby Animals are a good choice. Each page has a cut out with texture for babies to run their fingers along. Also, Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy: a touch, skritch and tickle book by Sandra Boynton’s humorous illustrations along with textured cutouts makes for great interaction between book and readers.

Press Here and Mix It Up by Herve Tullet are great preschool age interaction books. Delight of color and motion is developed page by page as the readers interact clapping, touching and eventually giggling through the book. Don’t Push the Button by Bill Cotter is a crack up to read aloud with individuals or in a group setting. Many hesitant listeners have stopped to engage in the reading of this book and asked for it to be read again and again!

Eric Carle’s book From Head to Toe uses his child engaging illustrations of animals to invite children to copy the movements these animals make. From bending to clapping to wiggling to stomping children love to mimic and giggle throughout the whole book.

Then there are the picture puzzle children’s books that are packed with objects to spy and discover. Spot the Bird on the Building Site invites children to find a bird in every scene, labels different tools and trucks to find amongst the detailed illustrations of building sites, and asks the reader to count and label throughout the whole book. When the last page is read turn back to the beginning to seek and find again.

Also, the Edward Gibbs books I Spy In The Sky, I Spy Under the Sea, and I Spy With My Little Eye are beginner puzzle books that show a cut out of an animal with a clue to guess what the turn of the page will reveal. Great surprises delight the reader and listener.

Touch the Brightest Star and Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson are books with lovely illustrations that ask the reader to create magic with their fingers on each page.

Then for many a grade schooler there are the Walter Wick books of Can You See What I See and I Spy seek and find books that most library copies are so well loved they have to be replaced.

The above titles are just the beginning of interactive books. There are more titles available at the Ketchikan Public Library and your children’s school library. Engaging children with books develops their understanding of the value and delight of being a reader.