Take picture books that ask for participation through engaging words and images, and you have the Interactive Picture Book. A brilliant way to introduce everything from basic concepts to writing a story in an incredibly amusing way.
Any Questions?
Author: Marie-Louise Gay
Illustrator: Marie-Louise Gay
Publisher: Groundwood Books, House of Anansi Press
Recommended Age Range: 6 to 9
In many ways, this book is two stories in one. The first story is true and shows the writing process through wonderful drawings, questions, and ideas. The second story is made up and comes from all the questions (and hard work) in the first part of the book. Of course, your child is invited to participate and, together, your child and the author create a wonderfully silly story to enjoy again and again.
Awards: White Raven Recommendation, International Youth Library, 2015; NCTE Notable Children’s Book in the Language Arts, 2015; Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award, 2015
Dear Zoo
Author: Rod Campbell
Illustrator: Rod Campbell
Publisher: Little Simon
Recommended Age Range: 1 to 4
When a little boy writes to the zoo for a pet, wow, is he in for a surprise! With each lift of the flap a “not-so-perfect” pet appears, until, of course, the very last page. ☺ A wonderful and interactive book that has the happiest of endings (or rather, beginnings).
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Author: Mo Willems
Illustrator: Mo Willems
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Recommended Age Range: 2 to 6
Oh My Gosh does this pigeon want to drive! And it’s up to your child to stop him! This is a laugh-out-loud book – for kids and adults – as this VERY frustrated pigeon pulls out every stop in order to go. ☺ Clever, funny, and probably familiar, this is a fantastic read.
Awards: 2004 Caldecott Honor Book
Go Away, Big Green Monster!
Author: Ed Emberley
Illustrator: Ed Emberley
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 8
Help! We Need A Title!
Author: Herve Tullet
Illustrator: Herve Tullet
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
We all know authors write books, but are they ever actually in them? Well, in this case, yes and it works brilliantly. Herve Tullet, the extraordinarily talented author of Press Here and Mix It Up! has done it again, but this time, you and your child are the audience. Full of surprises, including an unfinished story; a “not quite ready for prime time” cast of characters; and a very reluctant author’s “help,” you will love watching (and reading) Help! We Need a Title!
Awards: NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts
Lemons are Not Red
Author: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Illustrator: Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Publisher: A Neal Porter Book/Roaring Brook Press
Recommended Age Range: 2 to 5
Website
A terrific, and interactive, book that teaches children colors by asking questions about everyday objects. In this case, shapes start out as the wrong color but turn the page and, voila, there is the right one. Doubles as a bedtime story, so truly, two books in one. ☺
Awards: American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, 2004; Child Magazine Best Book of 2004; New York Public Library Best Book for Giving and Sharing, 2004; CBS This Morning Best Book for Gift Giving, 2004; Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books Best Book of 2004; Capitol Choices 2005 Noteworthy Book for Children; CCBC Choices Best Book of 2004
Let’s Play
Author: Herve Tullet
Illustrator: Herve Tullet
Publisher: Handprint Books, an Imprint of Chronicle Books LLC
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
LOOK!
Author: Edouard Manceau
Illustrator: Edouard Manceau
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
Some titles simply don’t need an introduction; LOOK! is one of them. With a rectangular cut-out, and questions to stir the imagination, your child is destined to explore, discover, and “see” the everyday just a little bit differently. Wonderful!
Mix It Up!
Author: Herve Tullet
Illustrator: Herve Tullet
Publisher: Handprint Books, an imprint of Chronicle Books LLC (U.S. Edition)
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
Some books become favorites right away; in my experience, this is one of them. Herve Tullet has created a brilliant and interactive way to show how one color can be made from two…but not without your child’s help! In the same style as Press Here, tapping, smudging, shaking, tilting, squishing, rubbing, and “smooshing,” make colors change in the most delightful ways. Magical!
Awards: Amazon.com Best Books of the Year 2014, Ages 3-5; BuzzFeed 2014 Best Books, Picture Books
On the Spot: A Book You Don’t Just Read, You Play
Author: Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Lea Redmond
Illustrator: Sanne te Loo
Publisher: Random House
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
Press Here
Author: Herve Tullet
Illustrator: Herve Tullet
Publisher: Handprint Books, an Imprint of Chronicle Books
Recommended Age Range: 2 to 5
In this brilliant book, Herve Tullet shows that, with just the right amount of questions, directions, compliments, and color, a circle can capture your child’s imagination with “oohs,” “aahs,” laughter, and surprise. A great way to teach, learn, and be entertained. Don’t miss it!
Awards: A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year; A Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book of the Year; An ALA Notable Children’s Book; A Wall Street Journal Best Children’s Book of the Year; A Horn Book Fanfare Selection
Say Zoop!
Author: Herve Tullet
Illustrator: Herve Tullet
Publisher: Handprint Books, an Imprint of Chronicle Books LLC
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 5
Tap the Magic Tree
Author: Christie Matheson
Illustrator: Christie Matheson
Publisher: Greenwillow Books, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 7
The magic of the seasons is captured in Tap the Magic Tree; an interactive picture book showing nature at its finest throughout the year. With budding leaves, blooming apples, lost leaves, and frosted branches, this book shows one tree’s amazing transformation with every turn of the page.
Awards: Amazon.com Best Books of the Year 2013: Ages 3-5 (Picture Books); 2013 Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Book Award for Preschoolers; NPR’s Best Books of 2013: Kids’ Books
The Book With No Pictures
Author: B.J. Novak
Illustrator: B.J. Novak
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers, an Imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC
Recommended Age Range: 5 to 8
Website
A picture book with no pictures?! Really? Yes. Really! And it is hysterical. In fact, this may be one of the funniest books you’ll read all year. Written by actor and comedian B.J. Novak, The Book With No Pictures has created a whole new type of “pictureless” genre that will have children and adults not just utterly amused, but quite possibly falling into fits of uncontrolled laughter. Do not miss this book!
Awards: Amazon.com Best Books for Children 2014; BuzzFeed 2014 Best Books
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear
Author: Don Wood, Audrey Wood
Illustrator: Don Wood
Publisher: Child’s Play International
Recommended Age Range: 2 to 5
Open this interactive book and find a mouse who’s just waiting to show you his amazing discovery – a huge strawberry. But wait! You, the reader, want some too! In a most clever and humorous way involving, of course, a “…Big Hungry Bear,” this mouse learns that there is only one way to save his strawberry…a classic tale of sharing – for sharing. ☺
The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!
Author: Mo Willems
Illustrator: Mo Willems
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Young Children
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 5
Website
The Staring Contest
Author: Nicholas Solis
Illustrator: Nicholas Solis
Publisher: Peter Pauper Press, Inc.
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 10
Website
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Author: Eric Carle
Illustrator: Eric Carle
Publisher: Putnam/Philomel (U.S. Edition)
Recommended Age Range: 2 to 5
Follow The Very Hungry Caterpillar as it eats its way through this classic tale. A brilliant introduction to this insect’s life cycle, days of the week, and numbers. Child-like illustrations accompany the deliciously entertaining text.
Awards: New York Times Ten Best Picture Books of the Year, 1969; Best Children’s Books of England citation, 1970; Brooklyn Museum Arts Books for Children citation, 1973, 1976, 1977; American Institute of Graphics Arts Award, 1970; Selection du Grand Prix des Treize, France, 1972; Nakamori Reader’s Prize Japan, 1975
This book just ate my dog!
Author: Richard Byrne
Illustrator: Richard Byrne
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
Website
This book just can’t stop eating. And, while it starts with a dog just trying to cross the page, Watch Out! because “gulp” – this book has one voracious appetite! Don’t worry, with a little bit of shaking (and a lot of help from you, the reader), things work out in the end, well, except for the dog (read this story! You’ll see what I mean). ☺
Awards: Oxfordshire Book Award Winner; Virginia Readers’ Choice; CCBC Choice (University of WI); Kentucky Blue Grass Award Master List
Touch the Red Button
Author: Alex Lluch
Illustrator: Alex Lluch
Publisher: WS Publishing Group, Inc.
Recommended Age Range: 3 to 6
In this terrific little book, buttons go from colorful to invisible; oval to round; even big to small – but only if your child plays along. With bright colors to match the book’s entertaining questions, this is one that’s sure to please.
Warning: Do Not Open This Book!
Author: Adam Lehrhaupt
Illustrator: Matthew Forsythe
Publisher: A Paula Wiseman Book, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Recommended Age Range: 4 to 8
Website
How many parents have used this reverse psychology? Tell your child not to, and voila! It happens! This, of course, is the premise behind this very funny and entertaining story. And I promise, for all the times I’ve read it, the second after I say the title this is what I hear: “OPEN IT!” With terrific illustrations, a clever use of monkeys, toucans, and one very hungry alligator, you will “…Open this Book,” then reopen it, again and again and again….
Awards: E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor Book; ALA Notable Children’s Book; Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year Selection Title; Huffington Post Best Picture Book Honorable Mention