Customer Reviews

Press Here

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

LOL - okay, the wonderful review before mine is so chock full of great information on the book that I don't know how I can compare. (I think the review is longer than the book!) Truly a great review, so I'll just move onto reaction to book.

I'm the mom of a 3-year-old daughter. I wasn't sure how she would react to the book. There are no cute characters. No flaps to lift. No scratch and smell, lights, music or holograms. LOL - it's truly a book! And it's made up of primary colors, circles, and basic sentences - that's it.

So, I put her on my lap and began to read. Did she like it? Well, we had to read it 8 times the first night, 7 times the second night, 10 times the third night, etc., etc., etc. She hasn't gotten tired of it yet.

This morning, my daughter had a doctor's appointment. As we sat in the waiting room, I took the book out and we began to read. Within moments, we were surrounded by every other child in the waiting room as they watched and listened in fasciation.

This is truly a wonderful little book that proves imagination is more important and more effective than batteries!

When we talk about interactive picture books we're usually talking about pop-up books or tactile books with fuzzy/bumpy details. When we talk about picture books that break down the fourth wall, we're usually talking about titles that approach the reader directly with a narrative like The Monster at the End of this Book or Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! or Can You Make a Scary Face? So where do we slot the little French import Press Here by Herve Tullet? Interactive but also reliant on the paper format, this here's an entirely new breed of book. One that has its finger firmly on the pulse of what kids are used to, while at the same time finding a way to both upset and exceed their expectations.

You know what kids love? Being told what to do. Seriously, it's a thrill for them. Take Press Here. From the title onward children are given specific directions like "press the yellow dot again" and "try shaking the book". For every action the child takes, the book seems to respond with the turn of a page. Dots flit and fly in all directions. Sometimes child readers turn out the lights. Other times the dots grow huge on the page with every clap of the reader. By the time you've reached the end all the book has to say is, "want to do it all over again?" and you can bet that every reader in the room, tall or small, will scream out an appreciative "YES!!!" in response.

I wonder . . . is this the first picture book of the picture book app age? Could you have published a book quite this specific ten or twenty years ago? Does Press Here (called just Un Livre in its native France) in fact mark the start of a whole new genre of children's fiction? Which is to say, fiction for children that are familiar with interaction and, indeed, demand it. I say that in full knowledge of the fact that only a certain privileged segment of the current youthful population has the opportunity to play with interactive electronic toys. Still, I've enough faith in both the small techies and their non-electronic kin to believe that if you tell them to rub a circle in this book, they'll still have the wherewithal to know to turn the page afterwards. I think.

I've heard people say that while an eBook or an app of a book may be amusing, it doesn't have the smell of a book. Smell is important, I'll grant, but I've sniffed enough picture books with nasty rotting cheapo glue in their spines to know that not being able to get an olfactory whiff of a title is sometimes a blessing in disguise. No, the real advantage any given book has over its electronic counterpart is the tactile experience. With screens all you'll ever feel will be a slick, smooth surface. Books (ironically once deplored by the gatekeepers of children's literature if they ever included interactive parts) have the distinct advantage of getting to be furry, fuzzy, softy, plushy, or downright chewable from the start. Normally such tactile books are relegated to babies. Yet every book is, in its way, a physical experience. Take Press Here. First off you've got these thick cardboard covers, clearly built to withstand some serious blows and shakes. Then you've the pages inside, which are shiny and thick enough to give you the impression that you're really accomplishing something when you turn the page. And that, right there, is yet another advantage over the electronic form. While on a screen you can turn a "page" with a mere flick of your index finger, here kids get to revel the pleasure of lifting the thick luscious pages themselves. It's a magic trick that never stops giving. The page has now become the lifting of a curtain on the world's most basic stage.

As a children's librarian I had to consider the readaloud potential of this book. Sure, it's beautiful for one-on-one experiences. It would even work well with kids who've enough experience reading that they know what it's saying at any given moment. But what about for storytimes with big groups of kids? Since the book is constantly telling "you" what "you" should do next, the reader would have to read the text and then do the instructions themselves. That could be fun, but if I know anything about toddlers and preschoolers, you know that you had better have some pretty long arms if you're going read this aloud to them. Otherwise you might find them approaching you like small determined zombies, arms outstretched so that they might press and touch and rub and tap the book for themselves. At least you can get a big group to blow and clap their hands for the later portions of the story. That's pretty good.

I imagine a picture book app for this book with something approaching mild horror. This is odd, particularly when you consider the debt this book owes to the mindset that accompanies that technology. Yet to make this into an app would render this book . . . ordinary. No different from any of the other downloadable games out there and, indeed, much less impressive. What sets Press Here apart from the pack is the fact that it is printed on paper. There's a magic to the book that is akin to the magic of pop-up books. In paper there is power and Press Here taps into that. It is, I hope, the start of great new things to come with one of the oldest formats on earth.

For ages 3 and up.

On the opening page of PRESS HERE, the reader sees a simple yellow dot on a clean white background and the simple words that invite the reader to "Press here and turn the page." I challenge anyone not to be tempted to "press here". Once you do "press here" and turn the page the journey has begun. Each page invites the reader, to press, rub, shake, tilt, or blow on the page. Each time, readers are rewarded with some kind of action on the subsequent page. Rubbing the yellow dot may make it change color. Shaking it moves all of the dots around. And blowing on the page just might send all of the dots flying. Every time I share this book with someone, I get the same response - smiles, chuckles, and enthusiastic interaction with the book.

There are books and then there are books. PRESS HERE is fun, simple, and brilliantly executed. In some ways, I like to describe this as an iPad app for people without an iPad. It should be noted that the book is designed in a way that also allows for heavy use. With a book that encourages interactions, it is critical that it can stand up to lots of handling. The pages of PRESS HERE are thicker and coated which will support frequently use.

If you are looking for gifts for young children in your life, or just like collecting unique books, I would seriously recommend this one. I am already making up a list of who will get a copy.

I read about this book and purchased a copy for our six-year-old granddaughter. She loved it so, she took it to her kindergarten show-and-tell. She was lucky to get the book back, so we purchased two more -- one for her class and one for a different grandchild. A great way to engage a child's imagination and increase appreciation for those things called "books."

Lee Salem

Bought this for my 2.5 year old and he loves it. I think he really does think he is manipulating the little dots with his actions. He treats the book with a bit more reverence. Fun for us to read too as it allows us to get the kids involved. Something different.

Some of the simplest of ideas can be the most engaging. I had initially thought this book would be best for younger children - maybe three or four year olds. Wrong. My six year old is absolutely taken with this book. I think it must be the interactive quality that has him hooked, or the fact that he thinks he's controlling the dots' outcome. It's probably a combination of the two that makes this book irresistible.

The first page has the single yellow smudgey dot from the cover with the directions "Press here and turn the page." Similarly, each page has a number of dots with a single direction. As you follow the directions, your actions will make more dots appear, change colors and fly about the pages. Soon you will be clapping your hands, rubbing the dots, standing the book up straight and shaking it around - whatever you need to do to make those dots move. I love that you need to rely on your imagination to really be taken in by the book. Just let go and do what the book tells you to do and it feels like magic!

I think this is one of those books that is so simple, it make you think "Why didn't I come up with this?" and really marvel at the person who thought to put it together. So let's all take a moment a marvel at the ingeniousness that is Herve Tullet. He has been creating children's books for 15 years and has come up with some amazing things. It makes me a feel a bit better to find he's no one-hit wonder.

"Thanks a lot, Mom." This was said with dripping sarcasm because I purchased this book for my granddaughter a few weeks ago. She loves it! She loves it so much that my daughter has already read this book to her approximately 36 times. That does not count how many times Daddy or Grandma has read it to her. She is a very bright five and can't get enough of this book. Shaking! Counting! Colors! Giggles! Simple words for directions! Since Grandma taught English for thirty-eight years, she highly approves of any book that can generate this much interaction!

I bought the book for my 3 year old granddaughter who had to be on a 10 hour plane ride and then live in a hotel for about a month. It is absolutely the best thing for her because she can "be active" with it, yet still remain in the same restricted location. Though it is not a board book, it is very sturdy and can withstand the pressing, shaking, rubbing, and tapping that it asks her to do. I was a little worried that she might find it boring as she is quite gifted; however, she always wants to read it and definitely loves the interaction that is provides. The illustrations are very simple and childlike. It would be the ideal gift for a young child that is hospitalized or in some other way physically restricted because it is so very entertaining. I could write all day and not come up with a bad thing to say about it!!!

Love this book. Bought it for my granddaughter who is two. Lots of smiles and giggles as we read the book and the did the actions so it seemed like the dots would move.

We just got this book, and our just turned 2 year old LOVES it. It's fun and full of whimsy.