Interactive Books
Interactive books are fantastic because they really spark our imaginations! They’re engaging, fun to read and often very silly. They’re great any time, but especially on a rainy/snowy day when you’re looking for something active to do with your little ones. They’re also great for drawing out language. Explore the books below and let me know which ones were your favorites!
I hope you love the books I recommend! Please note that the links below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Herve Tullet is my absolute favorite author of interactive books. Mix It Up, Press Here, Let’s Play and Say Zoop! are all engaging, fun, and silly. These are the books that my kids and students ask to read again and again because they love following the directions on the pages to make the action of the story happen. They’re also available in Spanish!
How Do You Dance? is a hysterical book featuring dozens of ways to dance. Your child will love watching all of the characters in this book show you how they dance. Encourage them to try out the silly dance moves to get them moving.
Who Was That? - a fun adventure that tests your attention and memory skills! Each page asks you to recall something unique on the page before. This book is great for a laugh but will also help hone those attention and focusing skills.
Watch This! - is a totally unique book! Featuring photos of real kids working together to make their bodies into shapes. It’s helpful for introducing the concept of shapes to your little one.
Count Your Chickens- I’m in LOVE with this book! All of the chickens in town are off to the fair, follow them on the fun slide, on planes and trains and as they drift off to sleep. This book is fun, colorful and makes for a great experience with counting. You can also use it to play “I Spy,” and ask your little one to find a specific chicken on each page. These activities help to build language, focus, attention and visual skills.
Christie Matheson’s Tap the Magic Tree, Plant The Tiny Seed and Touch The Brightest Star are fun and fantastic books that put magic at your child’s fingertips. They’ll love moving the action of the books forward with just a few taps!
**New** Matheson’s brand new book, The Hidden Rainbow, is sure to be your next story time adventure! Help the bees find the colors of the rainbow that are hidden in the garden. This book is fun, beautiful and interactive. It also helps builds so many skills, from language and color recognition, to building attention and visual skills.
Matthew Van Fleet’s books are great books for kids of all ages. Even the youngest readers will love making the animals move by touching, pulling and lifting the tabs in these books.
This or That: What Will You Choose at the British Museum? - this one is so much fun! Featuring real items and artifacts from the British Museum, this book challenges readers to find specific items on each page, or choose a favorite artifact from a given set. These activities help kids to build their visual, attention and, verbal skills. You can use it talk about colors, shapes and patterns. Practice math skills by asking your child to count the number of shoes in the book, or how many purple items he/she can find. For ages 4+
Betsy Snyder’s adorable series of books are fun for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. These books come to life when you put your fingers through the holes in the book and wiggle them around.
Littleland Around the World - this search-and-find book is so much fun! Follow the adorable animals as they travel around the world. Each page features a different country, it’s flag, food, landmarks and more. The illustrations are so engaging and offer a great opportunity to practice language, talk about colors, animals and many cultures. Searching for each item is great building visual skills, attention and focus. If you’re child is 0-2, try the board book edition.
Box - this book is great for all kids, but especially for 2-3 year olds, who love to touch everything. What would you do with a box? Open the flaps and unfold the pages to find a world of endless possibilities. Use this book to talk about colors, shapes, and animals. You can ask your little reader to predict or guess what might be inside each box. This allows kids to build their language and critical thinking skills.
The Staring Contest - this book had my 5-year old daughter cracking up! The big staring eyes dare you to keep your eyes open. Go ahead, try it!
Jump Around - this book is perfect for a car, a classroom, or even your “mommy bag.” Use it to keep kids busy and their bodies moving, as they jump like a frog, flap like a duck, and move like many other types of animals. The 2’s in my class LOVE this one!
Follow That Car - This is our new favorite book to take on long car rides! Start your engines and follow along as Mouse tries to catch the Gorilla in the yellow car. Try to find a clear path for Mouse to drive as he follows his friend through busy city streets, up a snowy mountain, through a hazardous construction site, and many more exciting places. Little readers will love using their little fingers to find a route for Mouse but watch out for traffic jams, avalanches, and bumpy roads.
The Incredible Ship of Captain Skip - this book is a story and activity all in one! Follow the fierce captain Skip as she embarks on her pirate adventure. Grab some paper and get your fingers ready to fold your own pirate ship as Skip and her crew sail across the sea.
Remember 10 with Explorer Ben - I may have gotten this book more for myself than my kids but we all loved it. Join intrepid, but forgetful, explorer Ben as he embarks on his exciting adventures. Can you help him remember all of the things he’ll need along the way? Use the memory tricks on each page to boost your memory power. I’m not gonna lie, these memory techniques have been perfect for me and my “mommy brain.”
Curious Kids: The age of the Dinosaurs - we love all things dinosaurs in our house, so we were excited to receive this book from our friends at Tiger Tales. Turn the pages and watch the pop-up dinosaurs come to life. Full of fun facts and engaging motion, this book is great for the dinofile in your family.
My kids are in love with these insanely fun books from Workman’s Photicular Book Series. Take an extraordinary leap as you lift each page and bring each creature to life with colorful, fluid motion.
Take a magical journey back in time, to when dinosaurs roamed the earth with Dinosaurs.
Dive deep into the sea without leaving home, and meet amazing creatures with Ocean.
Embark in an eye-opening journey in the land down under with Outback.
Take a stunning trip to the ends of the Earth with Polar.
The Lit For Little Hands Series - The books in this series are SO much fun to read. Pull the tabs, spin the wheels, and open the flips to see what happens I love the way these books bring classic literature to life with interactive elements, colorful illustrations and child-friendly prose. There are so many awesome books to check out, including adapted works by Shakespeare, Charlotte Brontë and more!
The Grizzled Grist Does Not Exist! - We were gifted this book by our friends at Gecko Press and we immediately fell in love with it! Follow Ms. Whisk through the mountains and trails of Dismal Hills. But watch out because all signs point to a ferocious creature hidden deep in the woods. Ms. Whisk is certain that there’s nothing to be afraid of, but the clever kids in her class are not so sure. With lyrical rhymes and colorful characters, this book is sure to capture your heart. My kids loved helping me read and chiming in on the “the Grizzled Grist does not exist” refrain.
Search for a Giant Squid: Pick Your Path - We were gifted this fabulous book by our friends at Chronicle Books, and we absolutely LOVED it! Reading this book is truly an engaging adventure. My kids loved getting to pick their pilot, and their submersible vehicles and making the decisions as we went along. There were so many great science concepts to explore, so many facts about marine life, and oceanography, and so many different outcomes. After 4 readings we made all of the right choices leading us to the giant squid and they were so excited.
Play With Jay: Fun and Games for Little Readers - Here’s a great book for readers of all ages. Full of questions for little readers to answer, including where our fruit and vegetables come from, which items in a group go together, finding opposites and pairs, counting and SO much more. I love this book because it’s fun and full of opportunities to build language, critical thinking, and early counting, sorting, and classifying skills.
Books for Grown-Ups!
Unplugged Play: Toddler & Unplugged Play: Preschool - these books are jam-packed with ideas for activities, games, crafts, and more! I’ve found some fabulous games for my 2-year-old students in the toddler edition. At home, we’ve been loving the activities in the preschool edition, especially during these long winter months, when we can’t get outside to play.
Quick Tips:
Preview the books before you read them, this will help you decide if they’re right for your child’s age and attention span.
You might be wondering why you’d ever need interactive books. They’re great any time you need an activity, a laugh, or a distraction. For example:
On a rainy or snowy day, it’ll get them engaged and moving their bodies, which is great for getting their energy out.
When your child is sad, bored, upset, or melting down, telling them that you need their help to make the magic in these books happen may help change the scenery and help them to move forward.
Got a long trip ahead of you? Long wait at the doctor’s office? Grab a few of these interactive books to engage their brains and help pass the time.
These books are great for drawing out language in children of all ages. While you read, encourage your child to talk about the colors, shapes, and objects that appear.
Once your child has read these books a few times they might enjoy reading them on their own, sharing them with a friend, sibling, or grandparent!
Did you like these books?
Do you have other interactive favorites?
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