21 Amazing Interactive Books for Kids of All Ages
Interactive books for kids are such a fun way to get kids involved and invested in reading. From interactive board books to books for older children, we have included our favorite interactive kids’ books.
These are the books that are tried and tested, and with five kids between the two of us, you can be sure that if a book is on this list, it is a good one. Interactive books are books that require some involvement from the child to enjoy the book to its fullest.
So whether your child needs to pull a tab, push a button, solve a problem, or tilt the book, each one of these books has an interactive element that adds depth to the book.
Don’t forget that every extra moment spent reading with your child is an opportunity for learning and bonding. These books are especially great at promoting reading readiness and helping more active children attend to the book. After all, not all kids have an easy time sitting and listening without moving their bodies.
*Post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you. Some books have been gifted. All opinions are our own.
Interactive Books for Kids
Interactive Board Books for Babies
Pat the Bunny (Touch and Feel Book)
Author: Dorothy KunhardtÂ
Illustrator: Dorothy KunhardtÂ
Year: 1968
Genre: Board Books
Age: 0 – 3
Plot
This touch-and-feel book is perfect for little ones to feel the soft bunny and look in the mirror. It’s such a cute classic that launched interactive board books for babies and spawned a million spoof books!
Why Jackie loves it
I love the interactive element of this one! My mom had this book, I had it, and I read it to my daughter too!
Find this book in: Books for Newborns / Books for a 1-Year-Old / Interactive Books For Kids / Bunny Books
Peek-A Who by Nina Laden
This interactive board book is perfect for the littlest reader. This rhyming board book has cut-outs that make the game of peek-a-boo even more fun.
The last page of this book has a mirror that allows your baby to look at themselves.
Why We Love This Book: simple rhyming text, interactive, developmentally appropriate with the mirror
Appropriate for Ages baby -2 years
Plot
This adorable finger puppet book is interactive and fun. The repetition in this classic rhyme encourages language development and as children get older, they may start babbling along while you read.
Why Jackie loves it
The finger puppet encourages hand-eye coordination while they interact with the finger puppet on this book.
Find this book in: Counting Books / Interactive Books For Kids / Books for a 1-year-old / Books for Newborns
Barnyard Dance
Author: Sandra Boyton
Illustrator: Sandra Boyton
Year: 1993
Genre: Board Books
Age: 0 – 3
Plot
This charming book is a favorite Boyton of every child I know. It features a group of animals dancing to a rhyme that your child can dance along to! Your toddler will want to read this on repeat.
Why Kirsten loves it
Sandra Boyton is a go-to author and illustrator for a reason. She writes the best books for young children!
Find this book in: Interactive Books / Best Books for a 1-year-old
Interactive Books for Toddlers
Tails by Matthew Van Fleet
My kids and I LOVED reading this book together. It is interactive with flaps, tabs, scratch and sniff, and different textures. Discovering which animal belongs to the tails is only half the fun.
I used to read this book with my kids before we went to the zoo and count how many animals we saw. There are so many fun and imaginative ways to read this book.
Find this book in Educational Books for 2-Year-Olds / Interactive Books For Kids
Ten Little Ladybugs
Author: Melanie Gerth
Illustrator: Laura Huliska-Beith
Year: 2000
Genre: Board Book
Age: 1 – 3
More info:
Plot
This interactive book helps kids count from one to ten with little 3D ladybugs that appear on each page as you progress through the story.
Why Kirsten loves it
I love that the raised ladybugs help tactile learners so it is a multi-sensory learning experience.
Find this book in: Counting Books / Best Books for a 1-Year-Old / Interactive Books for Kids
Melissa and Doug Poke-a-Dot Old MacDonald’s Farm
Not only does this book give your child a chance to make all the animal noises while singing the classic song, but there are interactive buttons on each page that make a popping noise. You and your toddler can also practice counting the animals.
Each page has many chances to practice making sounds and expand language and vocabulary. For example, you can say “The cow says moo. Let’s count the cows.”
Interactive Books for Children
Mix it up by Herve Tullet
This book is amazing. Although you can use this book with older kids, the fun of this book is not only learning the colors but beginning to learn how to colors mix to make new colors. Let your baby try some finger painting to try this for themselves.
Why We Love This Book: This book can be used in so many ways to promote learning while giving children a chance to interact with the book.
Appropriate for ages 18months-4 years
Find this book in Books About Color / Books for a 2-Year-Old / Interactive Books For Children
Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle
I love the fact that this book has no words because it allows you and your child to make up the story together. Flora and the Flamingo dance together.
Your child can not only flip the pictures and dance with Flora. When you are done, you can put on some music and dance with your little one. This is one of our favorite interactive picture books.
Why We Love This Book: Wordless picture Books help with language development, Caldecott Honor-Winning book, wonderfully interactive
Appropriate for ages 1-4
Find this book in Educational Books for 2-Year-Olds / Wordless Picture Books / Baby Girl’s First Library / Interactive Books For Kids
Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson
This is the perfect interactive board book for 4-year-olds who love nature. The story will prompt your child to tap, shake, and blow on the pages within as the tree goes through the seasons.
Appropriate for ages 2-4
Find this Book in Interactive Books For Kids / Books for a 4-year-old.
Pizza! An Interactive Recipe Book by Lotta Nieminen
This adorable book is the perfect way to keep your little one engaged while reading. They can stir and mix while learning how to follow directions.
When you are done, why not make a pizza to eat for dinner? You can have your child help put on all the toppings! Or you can engage in pretend play with this adorable Melissa and Doug set.
Why We Love This Book: Encourages imagination, promotes language development (following directions), interactive.
Appropriate for ages 2-4
Find this book in Books for 2-year-olds / Interactive Books For Kids / Food Books for Children
Bunny Slopes by Claudia Rueda
This book about winter is fun and interactive. As you Shake, tap, and tilt the book, you can help Bunny go skiing. This book is completely adorable and trust me when I say kids never get tired of trying to get that bunny down the hill!
Find this book in children’s books about winter / Interactive Books For Kids / Bunny Books
Appropriate for ages 2-5 years
Don’t Push the Button by Bill Cotter
This funny story is the perfect interactive book
We love this interactive book for kids because it combines humor with language development. What will happen?
Appropriate for ages 3-5
Tickle Monster by Josie Bissett
This baby monster book is a wonderfully interactive picture book for kids. As you read it, it instructs you where to tickle your child!
When you read this book to your little one, you get to tickle and they get to laugh. After all, laughter and books should go together.
Sold individually or as a kit, we recommend the kit for the fun tickle monster gloves. Put on the gloves and tickle along with the tickle monsters. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers alike love this one. Be warned – it’s not great for bedtime because it can get kids in quite a goofy mood.
Appropriate for Ages 2-5
Important note: Some children love being tickled while others do not. Take cues from your child.
More Interactive Kids Books
The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak
This is such a fun and interactive book for kids. While most kids will think that a book with no pictures is not a fun book to read, this is a hilarious pick that will have kids giggling and responding while you read the book.
Why We Love This Book: Great for listening comprehension. Fun and interactive books for kids.
Appropriate for ages 3-7
Wreck This Picture Book by Keri Smith
Based on the popular, Wreck This Journal, this picture book is designed for little kids! With prompts on each page to make creative changes to the picture book, this is a perfect travel activity book for 5-year-olds.
This interactive book for kids is designed to make children use all their senses while reading the book. They are encouraged to smell, touch, and fold the pages.
Appropriate for Ages 5-8
Find this book in Books for 5-year-olds.
Duck Rabbit by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
This Rabbit book is exceptionally clever and hilarious. It is based on the optical illusion that is a duck or rabbit depending on how you look at the picture. In each illustration, children can look at this book from two points of view.
Why We Love This Book: Besides being hilarious, this book teaches kids that there will always be another point of view. This book is interactive and allows children to see when to let go of an argument.
Appropriate for ages: 3-8
Find this book in Interactive Books / Children’s Rabbit Books
The Jolly Christmas Postman
Author: Allan Ahlberg
Illustrator: Janet Ahlberg
Year: 2001
Genre: Picture Book
Age: 4 – 7
Plot
In the lead-up to the holidays, the sweet postman in this story delivered letters to all the fairytale creatures. It culminates with the postman delivering letters to Santa and Mrs. Clause and getting one for him!
Why Kirsten loves it
This is one of my favorite children’s Christmas books because of the interactive element. The story of the Jolly Christmas Postman comes with tons of real letters for your family to open and read. It’s such a sweet tale that celebrates the joy of letter writing and receiving mail around the holiday season.
Find this book in: Best Christmas Books for Kids / Interactive Books
Interactive Books for Older Kids
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (Minalima Edition)
Book 3 in the Harry Potter series has been out for a while, but now it’s getting the pop-up Minalima treatment. The gorgeous illustrations and interactive elements are sprinkled throughout the story to make reading an adventure.
This is a perfect interactive book for kids who are older and may not have the attention span to read numerous pages of strictly text.
There are pictures and interactive elements on almost every single page of this book!
You can find this book in Harry Potter Books
Recommended Reading Age: 12+ *
*This book deals with mature themes like death that may not be appropriate for younger children. We recommend it for children 9+.
Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery by Graeme Base
This interactive book for kids is a visual game of hide and seek. Horace the elephant is having a birthday party with his friends and someone has eaten the celebratory birthday meal.
With visually spectacular illustrations and rhyming text, you will have to find the clues to solve the mystery.
Why We Love This Book: Gorgeous illustrations, rhyming text, interactive element, mystery
Appropriate for Ages 6-11
Find this book in Interactive Books / Books for an 8-year-old
What is an interactive book?
An interactive book is any book that requires participation in some way to get the full benefit of the book. Whether you are lifting flaps, turning the book, answering questions, or solving a puzzle, an interactive book cannot be fully appreciated without the reader’s involvement.
Interactive books are great for everyone but especially readers who may have decreased attention when sitting still for long periods.
The Importance of Reading and 7 Helpful Reading Readiness Tips
If you are looking for information on reading readiness and do not know where to start, this is the first post in the importance of reading series that will help you navigate all the ins and outs of creating a lifelong love of books.
