Can You See What I See? Out of This World by Walter Wick (Scholastic Cartwheel Books, 2013)
Books are obviously great for reading but they can provide an additional connection between book and reader as well.
Can You See What I See? is really a game that tests the visual acuity of the reader. In a series of detailed scenes various objects are cleverly placed and must be located. The oversize digitally arranged photographs are gorgeous and those who tire of locating some of the very obscure objects can simply enjoy the book for the illustrations. Wick has clearly hit on a successful formula as this is the most recent of eight similar titles.
Mark Handford's Where's Waldo series is similar in that the reader must find a tiny character hidden amongst a horde of similar characters. This is not easy. I have spent hours searching for the little wretch! Some books have tabs to pull which initiate actions or hidden pictures that are revealed when a tab is lifted. The beloved Spot series of picture books by Eric Hill used the latter technique to great advantage.
Books can be toolkits that stimulate the reader's creativity such as A Book of Art-rageous Projects, which is a creative collaboration between the editors of Klutz and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Budding artists are exhorted to rub, pound, paint, sticker, weave, poke and soak this book. You can't get much more interactive than that. Klutz has produced many such books including Quilting and Stamp Art, which could lead readers into rewarding hobbies.
Sometimes an author will try to authenticate a story by adding a physical feature. In The Incredible Book-eating Boy, by Oliver Jeffers, a large bite-shaped piece is missing from the back cover. Such clever touches really add to the fun as readers will instantly get the joke.
Another interactive technique is to have the reader seem to participate in advancing the plot by performing a particular action or series of actions. There are Cats in this Book, by Viviane Schwarz, is a hilarious story about a bunch of cats who encourage the reader to help them and provide lots of positive reinforcement to get what they want. Night Light, by Nicholas Blechman, uses die-cut pages to get kids to match vehicles to their lights. It is both a delightful guessing game and a counting book and its bold blocky illustrations on heavy paper make it perfect for very young readers. Round Trip by Ann Jonas is a visually stunning tale of a trip to the city and subsequent return home that night. The big surprise to first-time readers is that one must turn the book upside-down to make the trip back.
And then there are pop-up books, which can employ any number of the above techniques including complicated paper engineering. Often a pop-up is based on a popular book in a standard format allowing those who love the original version to access the story in yet another way.
Great stories don't need these additional features, of course, but they can add to the fun and in some cases really are an integral part of the plot. Just reread The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, to enjoy one of most successful interactive books of all time.
Fran Ashdown was the head of the children's department at the Capilano branch of North Vancouver District Public Library for many years. She is absolutely determined to find Waldo. For more information, check your local libraries.
