Cynical Parent
As your little one enters “toddlerhood,” you’ll probably notice that he or she is becoming increasingly interested in reading books (or more accurately, having books read to them).
As you follow your child through this reading journey, you’ll likely come across what I think is one of the best parts of reading to your child – interactive books!
We are going to look at 10 of the best interactive books for toddlers, many of which my own have read and thoroughly enjoyed. But why are we looking at them and what makes interactive books awesome?
Keep reading to learn more! (And while you’re at it, check out one of our other recent posts about teaching your toddler to read – it pairs nicely with this one!)
(Note: This post contains affiliate links. See affiliate disclaimer at the bottom of the page.)
10 Best Interactive Books for Toddlers in 2019
The single best part of using an interactive book with you toddler, is the opportunity to educate.
Not only do interactive books make story time more fun, they also help you in some of the basics in learning and building an appreciation/love of reading for your child.
Interactive books can be used to learn animal sounds, textures, shapes, colors and so much more! And the best interactive books will help keep your toddler’s short attention span focused on story time. You can use the interactions to have your little one engage in story time and get the maximum benefit for the time spent reading.
1) Animal Alphabet: Slide and Seek the ABCs
This book has a lot of reasons for being our number one pick for best interactive books for toddlers. It has a double-sided education feature – learning the alphabet and learning animal names. If you get creative, you can also have your toddler learning animal sounds at the same time!
This book is also small, so it’s perfect for traveling. Stick it in your purse or the diaper bag as you run out the door. It is a board book and the sliders are reinforced – perfect for the general roughness that comes with toddlerhood.
It’s a win all around!
2) First 100 Words (Scholastic Early Learners: Touch and Lift)
This is a close second in our favorite interactive books for toddlers. My son LOVES these “first 100” type books. He has two and asks me to read them all the time.
It’s a great opportunity for me to ask him to point out different animals, shapes, colors and objects. It’s like story time turned into quiz time! He stays interactive and loves that we are doing something together. And I love that he is learning.
The first 100 words book has over 40 flaps for even more interactive opportunities and a nifty carry handle for little hands on the go.
3) Ruff! Ruff! Where’s Scruff?
This book is a particular hit among toddlers with its cute rhymes, adorable story line and pop-up interactivity.
Toddlers get to follow the story of scruff, who desperately needs a bath, and seems to be missing! Each pop up follows the story line of looking for scruff and in the end, he is found and bathed like a good little dog!
4) Pelican’s Bill Pull & Peek Book
My son LOVES this book right now! Pelican’s Bill is a simple interactive book, focused around counting.
Each page allows you to lift up on the pelican’s bill and find more sea friends in his mouth but, in the end, no snacks will be had by this pelican!
5) Who Wears What?
This interactive toddler book is great for learning textures!
This story goes through what each animal is wearing and has great interactive portions to each page. With these interactive pieces, your child learns textures like rough, smooth and fluffy!
6) A Kiss For You!
This story allows little ones to move the hand on the cover of the book to match the story.
They can use the hand to blow kisses, wave and much more! Some reviewers have commented on the durability of the book, but overall, it seems to hold up well to normal use during story time.
7) How Many Bugs in a Box?
This pop-up book is one of the best interactive toddler books for teaching colors in a fun and creative way!
Many readers commented on this being an instant favorite, so be prepared to read this one a lot!
8) I Spy Little Bunnies
This interactive book is a little different than some of the other interactive books on our list. This is a search and find book.
My son loves to be challenged to find things and then get praised when he finds it, so this is a great way to spend time together for us.
9) Who’s Making That Noise
This interactive book has flaps for toddlers to lift and interact with the story. Like all good children’s books, this one has a nice rhythm to it that makes it easy for a toddler to stay engaged.
My son has one flap book like this and he loves it. But be careful – I’ve had to tape the flaps back in more than a few times!
10) Noisy Farm: My First Sound Book
This book has a really neat sound interaction. This one makes the best interactive books for toddlers list because it has adorable illustrations and sound interaction on each page.
Your child can learn about animals on the farm and their sounds in a fun and interesting way.
That’s all!
That is it for our list of 10 best interactive books for toddlers in 2019. Hopefully you and your little one will enjoy story time even more with the help of these books and their interactive sounds, pop-ups, flaps and search and finds!
What are some of your favorite interactive books for toddlers? Leave a comment below!
