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Little Bookworm Chronicles: Interactive Books

Little Bookworm Chronicles: Interactive Books

Interactive Books

One of my favorite parts of being an Early Literacy Specialist is reading to babies, toddlers, and preschoolers during storytime!  Young children have short attention spans.  Through experience, I’ve learned and implemented a variety of techniques to keep a young child’s attention when reading a book.  I often choose to read “Interactive Books” because they are always fun and inviting for children of all ages. 

Interactive books are different from traditional picture books because they have features that engage the reader through active participation.  Interactive books like lift-the-flap books and touch-and-feel books can keep older babies and younger toddlers involved in the story by making physical contact with the pages being read.  Once your child can understand and follow simple directions, you can read the kinds of interactive books that make the reader part of the story by asking questions or giving directions such as blowing on the page to “move” something or pressing a button to activate a particular part in the illustration. 

There are too many benefits of reading interactive books to list, but my favorite is how interactive books also engage the adult reading the book!  We all know how much young children love and benefit from adult interaction. These types of books have gained popularity in the last 10 years, so there is a large variety available.  The Library offers a multitude of lift-the-flap, touch-and-feel, and following-directions style interactive books!  You can find links to a list of each type of interactive book below.

Lift-The-Flap Books

Touch-and-Feel Books

Following Directions Interactive Books

What are some of your favorite interactive style books to read with your child?