'Press Here. That's right. Just press the Yellow Dot. And turn the page.'
Press Here is an interactive picture book that goes beyond pop-ups, touch-and-feel, and sound or lighting effects. Instead, it addresses its little reader directly and lets all the magic happing in her or his imagination, all within the realm of the paper format.
The book begins with a yellow painted at the center of a blank page, inviting the reader to simply… press here. With every instruction the child follows, the book seems to respond at the turn of a page. Shake, tap, blow, clap! Dots multiply and disappear, move, mix, and slide across the page. It's perhaps this very mixture of math and art that I, as an architect, found so incredibly appealing and that I felt the need to introduce my daughter to.
In an interview for Sparkyteaching, the author talks about the experience he envisaged for both parent and child:
' A children’s book is a book that is going to be read by an adult and a child. My idea is that the book is in the middle where everyone can play, talk, touch and so on… It’s a moment of reading. Press Here will play (I hope) with those who know how to read (the adult) and also those who do not know (the child). It's a device to inspire and create a moment of sharing… I always try to conceive my books in this way — as another kind of story… a story made by the readers. In this case each reader will have a unique reading experience'.
In the age of apps, Ipads and technological wizardry, it's sturdy, cardboard format encourages physical engagement and familiarizes the child with the basic tactile experience of turning the pages of a book.
Press Here is like nothing we've read before, and it almost feels as if it deserves a genre of its own. We fell in love with its simplicity and ingenuity, and we invite you too to discover how the clever use of a basic set of resources such as paper, paint, and a bit of imagination can go a long way.
Watch the book trailer here:
