Press Here review

Press Here
by Herve Tullet
Chronicle Books
March 2011

What a delight! This book is purely wonderful. It has such a playful sense of fun. The book begins by directly addressing the reader "Ready? Press here and turn the page." Readers are instructed to press a yellow dot, sitting lone in the middle of the page. One dot soon turns to three. Three yellow dots soon turn different colors, and soon, after being invited to rub, shake, tap and tilt the book, viewers are given a visual treat as circles appear to magically move about.

When I read this aloud, my listeners loved that they felt "in control" of the book. You tilt the book... and on the next page, all the circles are on the other side of the page! Blow on the book, and on the next page circles are scattered about, clap and the circles grow bigger. What I loved about this book was the constant sense of positive reinforcement. Readers are constantly being told, "Great!" "Perfect!" "Well done!" and "Excellent!"

In an age of digital books and games, this book hits exactly the right note of engaging the reader and creating a non-narrative story that is really enjoyable. I thought this book might be perfect for one-on-one reading, or even for a young reader to read themselves, but I'm told that several librarians and teachers have read this with groups with great success. Perfect for ages 2 to 5, or for anyone with a youthful heart.

I borrowed this book from the library.