Get ready to learn about the different types of interactive board books that children LOVE to discover and read! Not only do these books offer hours of sensory engagement, but they also help to develop TONS of developmental skills. Let’s dive into what they are and what they have to offer! Do you have all of them in your at-home library?
What is a board book?
Board books are designed for younger children to be more durable. The cover and inner pages are printed on cardboard making them sturdier than paperback or hardcover books (which use paper pages inside).
What age is best suited for these books?
Board books are a good option for infants and toddlers who are a little more destructive and tend to rip pages. Typically, the age range for these types of books is 0-3 years old. The age group can vary depending on individual children’s needs and development.
Benefits
Interactive board books offer unique features that engage the senses of young readers while immersing them in repetitive vocabulary, language development, and foundational literacy skills. They also help to develop fine motor skills and a love for learning.
Purpose of Interactive Board Books for Baby and Toddlers
Interactive board books offer more than your classic picture books. They can be described as a sensory book, often including tactile features but can include other senses, such as smell, hearing, and vision (and for teething babies-taste, too). They provide sensory exploration while engaging in language and fine motor skills development, all at once.
10+ Types of Interactive Board Books that Kids Love
- Lift-the-flap
- Slide-and-seek
- Push-pull-slide
- Peek-through
- Pop-up
- Mini AniMotion
- Button Sound book
- Poke-a-dot
- Touch and feel
- Scratch-and-Sniff
- Touch and Trace
- Trace-and-flip
Fine Motor Skill Development
Lift-the-flap. These books engage readers by offering a hands-on reading experience with interactive flaps. They build anticipation as the children discover what is beneath the flap, often an image or vocabulary word. They increase understanding of cause-effect relationships, introduce concepts, help to develop object permanence, and help to develop fine motor skills. Also, there is ample opportunity to learn vocabulary in context, such as, “open,” “lift,” “close,” “down,” and “under.”
Slide-and-seek. A wonderful option to not only work on fine motor skill development but also to work on directional vocabulary (up, down, side, left, right). In these books, children use their fingers to move images on the page and make the story “come to life” as images change before their eyes. This type of board book also promotes understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship as a child’s movement of the finger results in revealing a new picture.
Slide-and-Find. Children reveal images beneath tabs that slide to reveal images or vocabulary. This image is Slide-and Find-Trucks by Roger Priddy. Little ones make connections with question prompts. The door slides reveal pictures with matching vocabulary to aid visual learning and language comprehension.
Push-pull-slide. Similar to slide-and-seek books, this type of board book allows children to interact with tabs. You can push, slide, spin, and pull tabs to reveal pictures and movement on the pages. These may require adult help depending upon age, however, they are great for fine motor skill development!
Visually Appealing
Peek-through. A peek-through book is a sure favorite as die-cut images (or a hole) reveal new illustrations with each flip of the page.
Pop-up. Perhaps the most familiar type of board book that we’ve all fancied in our childhood is the “pop-up” book. This moveable book is a visual feast for little eyes as the pages “pop” up with each turn of the page.
Mini AniMotion. The Mini AniMotion books by Accord Publishing bring motion to images with the tilt of the book. The movement in this interactive board book gives a real visual treat!
Board Books with Noise
Button Sound book. As the name suggests, these board books allow children to interact with hand-eye coordination as they push buttons that coordinate with images on the pages. They delight the auditory senses by providing music sounds, songs, and words. Reading almost becomes a “toy” when children interact with this type of board book.
Poke-a-dot. These super fun books have a patented Pop-a-Tronic™ technology that entices children with “pop” and “click” sounds that can be pushed from the front or back of pages. They encourage language development, fine motor skills, and counting. These interactive board books engage visual, auditory, and tactile sensory participation.
Realistic Sensory Experience
Touch and feel. Infants and young children explore the world through experience and senses. Touch and feel books excite little readers through tactile and visual learning. They provide textured surfaces for a sensory experience. This learning also helps to build vocabulary in context, such as understanding that sandpaper is rough or fur can be soft.
Scratch-and-Sniff. A type of board book that truly brings the pages to life! As kids explore through colorful pages and enticing stories, they can also scratch and sniff pieces of the book. Truly a magical reading experience!
Engagement with Hand-Eye Coordination
Touch-and-Trace. A touch-and-trace board book uses hand-eye coordination as children use their fingers to “trace” images. It could be letters of the alphabet, zig zag lines, swirls, or raindrops as they “fall”.
Trace-and-flip. Little ones learn letters and counting as they use their fingers to trace “tracks” or indents on the page. They use hand-eye coordination as they guide their fingers through these “tracks” and interact with the content they are reading.
Incorporating different types of interactive board books truly is a FANTASTIC way for children to delve deeper into their reading experience. Babies and toddlers use so many overlapping skills during reading when they interact with the words and images in front of them. They engage with the senses of touch, visual, auditory, and smell, as well as the use of hands-on learning, hand-eye coordination, and vocabulary practice. They develop comprehension, cause-effect relationships, object permanence, and fine motor skills.
There is such power in reading at an early age! If you’ve ever wondered what gift to get a baby or toddler, you can never go wrong with interactive board books! They’re a parent and baby favorite!