Story Time started at 10:30. I hurried to get my 18 month old into the stroller, hustled to the library, and found a nice spot on the carpet. Other moms shyly smiled back at me as we placed our toddlers in our laps waiting for the librarian to ring the bell to start. Phew, we made it and for 20 minutes I didn’t have to be the one entertaining my son for a change.
But then it started. He found the long, window curtains and decided that today was the day to play peek-a-boo. I gave a little warning stare, got up, pulled him back to the circle and reminded him that it was story time and he needed to sit in my lap.
For the next 15 minutes, I chased him around the room as he jokingly made a bee line for the exit or tried to take every book off the bookshelf. I envied the other moms with their kids obediently signing “The Wheels on the Bus” or listening attentively to The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Mine? He wanted nothing to do with storytime. I tried for several weeks though, each time leaving embarrassed that my son grabbed the apples off the felt board or ran and hid behind the librarian.
That’s when I decided we weren’t cut out for story time. It made me stressed. I left each week feeling like a bad mom and my son wasn’t getting the energy out that he so badly needed to.
Reading and literacy was important to me though, so I decided to invest in interactive books that could hold his attention. I bought books that had flaps, textures and buttons to keep his tiny fingers busy while I read. I read to him at home, away from the distractions of the outside world. The books helped him build his vocabulary and, more importantly, his listening stamina.
We may not have been cut out for story time but it didn’t mean we had to stop reading.
Here are some of the Interactive Books that we have loved throughout the years.
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By Benji Davies
This board book series has great rhyming patterns with sliders that allow little fingers to push and pull pictures.
Poke-a-Dot: Who’s in the Ocean?
by Melissa and Doug
Who doesn’t like popping things? Each page of this book has buttons to push making a fun and satisfying sound. It is the perfect book to introduce counting.
by Anita Bijsterbosch
Your little one will love this one. Each page has an animal with a flap mouth to flip open and yawn. My toddler and I each take turns making a yawning sound as he opens the flap. A book is always a winner when it ends with, “And everyone is sleeping.” The perfect transition to the crib.
These Lift-a-Flap books were our first introduction to interactive books. This series is full of illustrations, pictures and flaps and come in many different topics. Our first in this series was the First 100 Animals books.
Little mouse is trying to find his dinosaur. Each page shows a different dinosaur who has distinct features to touch and feel. Will mouse find the right dinosaur by the end?
This book series is called “Touchy-Feely” for a reason. They are meant to be touched and played with.
These Roger Priddy books are colorful and full of textures for little fingers to explore. The pages have raised portions making them a sensory experience.
Animal Alphabet Slide: & Seek the ABCs
Your little ones will love learning the ABCs with this sliding tab book. The pages have an animal illustration for each letter of the alphabet which slides open to reveal the animal.
Little fingers will love to trace the sensory paths in this book as they search for little tiger. This series is great for playing book peek-a-boo and engaging your toddler while reading.
If you are feeling discourage or intimidated by story time at your library, invest in some of your own interactive books and let your child’s fingers do the learning!
Get All the Books Here:
As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases from Amazon.com at no cost to you. These are all books that we personally own and love.
Leave me a comment and let me know if you read any of these.
