Press Here (Press Here)

Tullet's brilliant creation proves that books need not lose out to electronic wizardry; his colorful dots perform every bit as engagingly as any on the screen of an iPad. "Ready?" the voiceover-style narration asks on the first page; it shows a yellow dot on a plain white background. "Press here and turn the page," it instructs. When the page is turned, there's a second yellow dot beside the first one. "Great!" it says. "Now press the yellow dot again." A third yellow dot appears beside the first two. "Perfect," the narrator continues. "Rub the dot on the left... gently." On the next page, voila!--that dot is now red. "Well done!" the book congratulates. The fun continues as the dots proliferate, travel around the page, grow and shrink in response to commands to clap, shake, or tilt the book, etc. The joy is in the tacit agreement between artist and reader that what's happening is magic. Shh! Don't tell. All ages. (Apr.)

PreS-Gr 1--Tullet's spectacularly simple and successful concept book harkens back to a time when the term "interactive" meant something entirely different than it does today. Three dots on a page, one yellow, one blue, and one red, "need" readers help to make them multiply and move, either by pressing or tapping on them, blowing on them, shaking the book, or clapping. The dots, some of which mischievously show evidence of the illustrator's fingerprints, share an abundance of white space with chatty, seemingly handwritten instructions. The presentation is casual and personal, lending to a sense of camaraderie in causing those little dots to dance, a magical use of physicality that makes children feel like they control the book. And it's just plain fun. Tilt it sideways, turn the page, and the dots have all settled on the edge of the paper. Clap once, twice, and three times, and the dots have grown very big. This brief but brilliant book makes for a cozy activity for parent and child, or a fun participatory exercise during group storytime. Tullet reminds readers that a child's imagination truly needs only the most basic of instruments to soar high and far.--Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR