Interactive books to play along with

Reading doesn’t have to be a quiet, sitting-down activity; books can be a huge amount of active fun! We have collated a list of book recommendations for mixed ages that are interactive and playful.

  • I Spot a Rabbit (My Very First Spotters Guide)

    by Kay Vincent 

    2025 2 to 3 years 

    • Board books
    • Interactive

    An inviting, spring-like book about animals often found in local parks. Lift the flaps to discover more about them. Ideal for getting toddlers involved. 

  • Moo!: Play-city Rattler

    by Make Believe Ideas 

    2023 0 to 2 years 

    • Board books
    • Interactive

    A sturdy board book with a rattle, introducing farm animals and their various sounds. A fun introduction to farm animals and the concept that books can be interactive like toys.

  • Baby Look!

    by Mama Makes Books 

    2025 0 to 2 years 

    • Board books
    • Interactive
    • Early Learning

    This excellent tummy time book is perfect for young babies to play with and is packed full of interactive features. 

  • Let’s go home, Baby Chick

    illustrated by Carolina Búzio 

    2024 2 to 4 years 

    • Board books
    • Interactive

    Can you help baby chick get home? A fantastic interactive board book with gorgeous illustrations of spring scenes and animals. Perfect for toddler hands. 

  • Press Here

    by Hervé Tullet 

    2011 2 to 9 years 

    • Interactive

    An ingenious picture book that uses the power of the imagination to create a fun interactive experience for children aged two upwards

  • Five Little Friends

    by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock 

    2025 2 to 5 years 

    • Interactive
    • Picture books
    • Poetry and rhyme

    A book of fun, short poems on all kinds of themes, with accompanying actions. A useful resource for adults to help little ones develop their fine motor skills while supporting their social and emotional development. 

  • Let’s Go For A Walk

    illustrated by Katy Kronreif 

    2022 4 to 14 years 

    • Interactive
    • Non-fiction
    • Picture books

    Wherever you live, in a town, by the sea or in the countryside, this vividly illustrated picture book by CBeebies favourite Ranger Hamza will make any walk more interesting and exciting. 

  • Sunday Fun Day: A Nature Activity for Every Weekend of the Year

    by Katherine Halligan, illustrated by Jesus Verona 

    2021 5 to 14 years 

    • Adventure
    • Interactive
    • Non-fiction

    Featuring 52 activities (one for every Sunday in the year), Sunday Fun Day is a compendium of craft, cooking, gardening and outdoor activities organised into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Loads of useful ideas and lovely for families who love crafts. 

  • Beat This Book

    by Howard Calvert, illustrated by Gemma Correll 

    2024 5 to 9 years 

    • Funny
    • Interactive
    • Picture books

    Funny and silly, this is a book that will entertain children for a good amount of time. With over 40 ridiculous challenges!  

  • A Little Dose of Nature

    by Alison Greenwood and Anneli Bray 

    2023 5 to 9 years 

    • Interactive

    This book is both calming and fun, suggesting over 25 activities to do while enjoying being outside. Brilliant for young children and families. 

  • Space Pirate Bears

    by Alastair Chisholm, illustrated by Jez Tuya 

    2023 5 to 9 years 

    • Adventure
    • Funny
    • Picture books

    A funny and inventive picture book that celebrates the power of storytelling. One dreary day Dad tells Jamie and Abby a story about a band of intergalactic heroes – the Space Pirate Bears – who must defeat evil Doktor Drab and save the galaxy from dullness…

  • Big Bad Wolf Investigates: Fairy Tales

    by Catherine Cawthorne, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie 

    2024 5 to 9 years 

    • Funny
    • Non-fiction
    • Picture books

    Could the Big Bad Wolf really blow down a straw house? A funny look at familiar fairy tales through the lens of STEM.

  • Ivy and Bearlock Holmes: The Case of the Missing Flower

    by Kristyna Litten 

    2025 5 to 9 years 

    • Chapter books
    • Interactive
    • Mystery

    Ivy and her grandpa Bearlock Holmes must solve the case of the missing Agave flower. With interactive puzzles to solve and an engaging, highly illustrated format, this book is perfect for young detectives! 

  • Werewolf Wood

    by Lan Cook, illustrated by Jared MacPherson 

    2025 5 to 9 years 

    • Horror
    • Interactive

    Become the hero in this exciting, choose-your-own story. Work out puzzles, roll dice, and pick your path carefully to survive the night and avoid a sticky end! 

  • Press Start to Play

    by Sam Gayton, illustrated by Jack Noel 

    2025 7 to 11 years 

    • Poetry and rhyme

    Gamers, get ready to press start and play with a world of poetry and language in this exciting new anthology from Sam Gayton.

  • The Boy With Big Decisions

    by Helen Rutter 

    2025 9 to 14 years 

    • Coming-of-age
    • Interactive

    An interactive book about choice, honesty and control in which the reader helps Fred Timple make decisions that terrify him in order to try and get his own happy ending. 

  • Choose Your Own Evolution

    by Jules Howard, illustrated by Gordy Wright 

    2025 9 to 14 years 

    • Interactive
    • Non-fiction

    Starting as a simple organism in the ocean, you must select your own evolutionary pathway and avoid extinction. A brilliantly fun, interactive non-fiction book. 

  • Pandora in Puzzlevale: The Secret Town

    by Paul Duffield, illustrated by Poqu and Siobhan McKenna 

    2025 9 to 14 years 

    • Adventure
    • Comic books
    • Fantasy
    • Interactive

    Help Pandora uncover the secrets of Puzzlevale and find her parents by solving over 100 awesome puzzles in this interactive, highly illustrated adventure book.