Aug 012013
Press Here
- Hardcover
- Published 2011
Press the yellow dot on the cover of this book, follow the instructions within, and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising book instructs the reader to press the dots, shake the pages, tilt the book, and who knows what will happen next! Children and adults alike will giggle with delight as the dots multiply, change direction, and grow in size! Especially remarkable because the adventure occurs on the flat surface of the simple, printed page, this unique picture book about th
List Price: $ 15.99
Price: $ 8.21
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A Wonderful Book!,
LOL – okay, the wonderful review before mine is so chock full of great information on the book that I don’t know how I can compare. (I think the review is longer than the book!) Truly a great review, so I’ll just move onto reaction to book.
I’m the mom of a 3-year-old daughter. I wasn’t sure how she would react to the book. There are no cute characters. No flaps to lift. No scratch and smell, lights, music or holograms. LOL – it’s truly a book! And it’s made up of primary colors, circles, and basic sentences – that’s it.
So, I put her on my lap and began to read. Did she like it? Well, we had to read it 8 times the first night, 7 times the second night, 10 times the third night, etc., etc., etc. She hasn’t gotten tired of it yet.
This morning, my daughter had a doctor’s appointment. As we sat in the waiting room, I took the book out and we began to read. Within moments, we were surrounded by every other child in the waiting room as they watched and listened in fasciation.
This is truly a wonderful little book that proves imagination is more important and more effective than batteries!
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|Book Review: Press Here,
On the opening page of PRESS HERE, the reader sees a simple yellow dot on a clean white background and the simple words that invite the reader to “Press here and turn the page.” I challenge anyone not to be tempted to “press here”. Once you do “press here” and turn the page the journey has begun. Each page invites the reader, to press, rub, shake, tilt, or blow on the page. Each time, readers are rewarded with some kind of action on the subsequent page. Rubbing the yellow dot may make it change color. Shaking it moves all of the dots around. And blowing on the page just might send all of the dots flying. Every time I share this book with someone, I get the same response – smiles, chuckles, and enthusiastic interaction with the book.
There are books and then there are books. PRESS HERE is fun, simple, and brilliantly executed. In some ways, I like to describe this as an iPad app for people without an iPad. It should be noted that the book is designed in a way that also allows for heavy use. With a book that encourages interactions, it is critical that it can stand up to lots of handling. The pages of PRESS HERE are thicker and coated which will support frequently use.
If you are looking for gifts for young children in your life, or just like collecting unique books, I would seriously recommend this one. I am already making up a list of who will get a copy.
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|Shaking and tilting optional,
When we talk about interactive picture books we’re usually talking about pop-up books or tactile books with fuzzy/bumpy details. When we talk about picture books that break down the fourth wall, we’re usually talking about titles that approach the reader directly with a narrative like The Monster at the End of this Book or Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! or Can You Make a Scary Face? So where do we slot the little French import Press Here by Herve Tullet? Interactive but also reliant on the paper format, this here’s an entirely new breed of book. One that has its finger firmly on the pulse of what kids are used to, while at the same time finding a way to both upset and exceed their expectations.
You know what kids love? Being told what to do. Seriously, it’s a thrill for them. Take Press Here. From the title onward children are given specific directions like “press the yellow dot again” and “try shaking the book”. For every action the child takes, the book seems to respond with the turn of a page. Dots flit and fly in all directions. Sometimes child readers turn out the lights. Other times the dots grow huge on the page with every clap of the reader. By the time you’ve reached the end all the book has to say is, “want to do it all over again?” and you can bet that every reader in the room, tall or small, will scream out an appreciative “YES!!!” in response.
I wonder . . . is this the first picture book of the picture book app age? Could you have published a book quite this specific ten or twenty years ago? Does Press Here (called just Un Livre in its native France) in fact mark the start of a whole new genre of children’s fiction? Which is to say, fiction for children that are familiar with interaction and, indeed, demand it. I say that in full knowledge of the fact that only a certain privileged segment of the current youthful population has the opportunity to play with interactive electronic toys. Still, I’ve enough faith in both the small techies and their non-electronic kin to believe that if you tell them to rub a circle in this book, they’ll still have the wherewithal to know to turn the page afterwards. I think.
I’ve heard people say that while an eBook or an app of a book may be amusing, it doesn’t have the smell of a book. Smell is important, I’ll grant, but I’ve sniffed enough picture books with nasty rotting cheapo glue in their spines to know that not being able to get an olfactory whiff of a title is sometimes a blessing in disguise. No, the real advantage any given book has over its electronic counterpart is the tactile experience. With screens all you’ll ever feel will be a slick, smooth surface. Books (ironically once deplored by the gatekeepers of children’s literature if they ever included interactive parts) have the distinct advantage of getting to be furry, fuzzy, softy, plushy, or downright chewable from the start. Normally such tactile books are relegated to babies. Yet every book is, in its way, a physical experience. Take Press Here. First off you’ve got these thick cardboard covers, clearly built to withstand some serious blows and shakes. Then you’ve the pages inside, which are shiny and thick enough to give you the impression that you’re really accomplishing something when you turn the page. And that, right there, is yet another advantage over the electronic form. While on a screen you can turn a “page” with a mere flick of your index finger, here kids get to revel the pleasure of lifting the thick luscious pages themselves. It’s a magic trick that never stops giving. The page has now become the lifting of a curtain on the world’s most basic stage.
As a children’s librarian I had to consider the readaloud potential of this book. Sure, it’s beautiful for one-on-one experiences. It would even work well with kids who’ve enough experience reading that they know what it’s saying at any given moment. But what about for storytimes with big groups of kids? Since the book is constantly telling “you” what “you” should do next, the reader would have to read the text and then do the instructions themselves. That could be fun, but if I know anything about toddlers and preschoolers, you know that you had better have some pretty long arms if you’re going read this aloud to them. Otherwise you might find them approaching you like small determined zombies, arms outstretched so that they might press and touch and rub and tap the book for themselves. At least you can get a big group to blow and clap…
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