Press Here

Press Here
written and illustrated by Herve Tullet. 2010. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. Unpaged. (9780811879545)

Author/Illustrator Website: http://www.herve-tullet.com/en/accueil.html

Media: acrylic paint

Awards and Honors:

New York Times Bestseller, National Indie Bestseller, Publishers Weekly Bestseller, ALA Notable Children's Book nominee, A Publishers Weekly "Best Book of the Year", A Kirkus Reviews "Best Children's Book of the Year"

Audience: all

Annotation:
Readers control the action in this deceptively simple, completely interactive, utterly engrossing picture book.

Personal Reaction:
    Press Here is a work of simple brilliance; a picture book that the reader controls, one that functions as a kind of analog app. 

    When I read this book to a group of children at storytime, you would have thought I was doing magic. The children were electrified by each turn of the page; I have never seen children react to a book with so much excitement and awe.

    There's nothing complicated in the premise and Tullet's illustrations in Press Here couldn't be simpler: yellow, red and blue dots on a white or black background. On each page readers are invited to interact with the book by pressing a dot, tilting or shaking the book, or clapping; and in doing so they make the dots move. It's a simple idea, but the way that these dots change color, become larger and smaller, and dance against the backgrounds is completely magical. This book's immediate appeal and simple joy make it destined to become a classic.