You’re probably aware that reading to children at a young age has a profound influence on vocabulary acquisition, speech development and listening skills. If you’re a parent of an infant or toddler, you may have noticed that interactive books are especially likely to hold their attention.

Pat the Bunny and The Very Hungry Caterpillar are classic interactive books, but below are some newer and lesser known titles that might spark your child’s interest. Their beautiful illustrations, textures or pop-up designs help stimulate young children’s growing sensory awareness and keep them engaged as they actively participate in the story.

1. Owl Sees Owl by Laura Godwin

This poetic and rhythmic book tells the story of a baby owl leaving his nest and exploring the world around him. Your child will be captivated by its simple storyline and beautiful illustrations.

2. All Better by Henning Lohein

This is a charming story about animal friends who help each other when they are hurt. Encourage your child to place the book’s reusable and repositionable bandage stickers on each animal’s injury.

3. Peep Inside Night Time by Anna Milbourne

Nonfiction books don’t have to be boring. Your child will have fun learning about the starlit sky and nocturnal animals, as he looks at colorful illustrations, feels the textured pages, and lifts the flaps.

4. The Opposite Zoo by Il Sung Na

This book introduces opposites in an engaging way with its colorful illustrations of zoo animals including a tall giraffe, short pig, slow sloth and fast cheetah. Encourage your child to find the sneaky monkey hidden on each page.

5. Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia

Vroom! Vroom! Your child will enjoy mimicking the sounds of different types of vehicles, as you read this book about transportation together.

6. Baby Faces Peekaboo by DK Publishing

Babies love to see the faces of other children. Play peekaboo with your child by lifting the flaps within this book to reveal photos of happy babies, tired babies, silly babies and more.

7. Press Here by Herve Tullet

Embark on a fun reading journey by following instructions on each page, including tapping dots, tilting the book, and turning the pages. Watch your baby’s face in awe as the dots seemingly respond to your actions.

8. Old MacDonald’s Farm (Poke a Dot) by iKids

Learning to count is fun and interactive with this book by iKids. Your child will love pressing raised dots on each page while counting the animals on Old MacDonald’s Farm.

9. Where is Maisy? by Lucy Cousins

Your child will have a blast finding Maisy in this lift-the-flap book. Not only will he strengthen his fine-motor skills, but he’ll also learn spatial words like “up,” “under,” and “in.”

10. Nursery Rhymes by Roger Priddy

Sing and dance to nursery rhymes with this book and accompanying CD. Invite your child to explore the textured pages to further spark his interest in learning these age-old classics.

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