Making a Connection With Interactive Children's Books

One of Arbordale's most popular titles is Newton & Me, available in print, as an ebook, and in mobile app form. This charming tale about a boy and his dog introduces children to basic physics and concepts like push and pull. It's this kind of content that lends itself particularly well to digital platforms in which kids can not just read about these actions, but see them in action.

"It's a whole lot easier to convey push and pull with digital, when the print is static," says Williams. "So this title, in particular, lends itself to a more interactive platform."

Dawn of the Interactive App
Sandy Philpott is director of marketing at Dawn Publications, based in Nevada City, California. In her estimation, interactive books aren't just new-fangled fads. They're here to stay.

"It's really hard to keep [children's] attention, and we're finding that more and more, younger children are into the digital age," says Philpott. "Although a physical book is still very important and key to their imagination, they like the ability to interact with the content. We've seen toddlers who will take a book and try to swipe its pages, like they would with a tablet, and expect the page to turn."

Philpott acknowledged that not all children's book subjects are conducive to interactive elements, but in the case of Dawn Publications' specialty -- non-fiction, science, nature, animals -- the topics are perfect for some level of interaction that's both educational and entertaining.

The Mouse and the Meadow is one of Dawn Publications' most popular titles in digital form today, for it mimics a pop-up book. App developer Malachi Bazan leveraged augmented reality (AR) software to visually bring the content to life. Building AR into the digital companion enables two-dimensional art to be rendered in 3D form, and to add layers of audio and video to the reading experience. In the case of this title, children experience the physical book and the digital AR companion simultaneously via a QR-code-prompted free download from the Apple iTunes store.