Those who have followed my blog know that my son learned to read at 21 months through PLAY. Reading interactive books grew my son’s interest in stories and literacy. Below in this post, I have listed 20 Fun Interactive Books for Kids.
Below is a video of my son sounding and spelling words at 21 months.
Many people ask me how this was done and the answers are in the book below, Teach Your Toddler to Read Through Play. We also have an online course that gives a more detailed account of how he learned to read at an early age.
Click the link below to access the online course.
Click the link below to access to book on Amazon.
Children will become interested in reading when you make it fun. You accomplish this by building their interest in words and stories. This will come naturally by reading a variety of interactive books.
Reading a variety of interactive books exposes children to various vocabulary words, characters, plots, settings, problems, and resolutions. When Cory, my son, was a baby, I always borrowed books about the alphabet, colors, and numbers from the library. This is the main reason he knew these topics at nineteen months and could read at twenty-one months.
I also picked interactive books with colorful pictures. When reading, I would point to the characters and various objects on the page. Pop-up books are great to read to children because they create an element of surprise. It also gives them an appealing visual of what is happening in the book.
Lift-the-flap books are great because your child is anticipating the answer to a question. They are also engaged while reading these books because they are showcasing the answers with lifting the flaps. Cory has always liked to handle books; therefore, I taught him how to turn the pages at nine months. This was another strategy used to get him involved in reading as a baby.
Start your child’s fun reading journey by reading interactive books. I have listed 20 below.
Let’s Get Started – 20 Fun Interactive Books For Kids

Alpha Bugs: A Pop-up Alphabet by David Carter
This book is all about bugs. It is a great resource for practicing sounds.
Birthday Bugs: A Pop-up Party by David Carter
This book celebrates birthday bugs. It has a different bug popping out of the presents.
The Wide-Mouthed Frog (A Pop-Up Book) by Keith Faulkner and Jonathan Lambert
This frog loves finding creatures outdoors and eating them. However, he was stumped when there is another that likes to eat wide-mouthed frogs.
Pop-up Peekabook: Under the Sea by DK
This is a baby book that introduces children to colorful underwater scenes and characters.
Pop-Up Dinosaurs: A Pop-Up Book to Get Your Jaws Into
This rhyming book has facts about dinosaurs. There are five big dinosaur pop-ups that jump from the pages.
The Jungle Book: A Pop-Up Adventure by Matthew Reinhart
This is a great retelling of a classic. Children are exposed to battles of good over evil and the importance of family.
The Color Monster: A Pop-Up Book of Feelings by Anna Llenas
This sensitive book gently illustrates common emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and calm.
A Pop-Up Book of Nursery Rhymes: A Classic Collectible Pop-Up by Matthew Reinhart
This book is a classic storytelling of Mother Goose’s nursery rhymes.
Brush Your Teeth, Please: A Pop-up Book by Jean Pidgeon
Children will learn proper dental hygiene in a fun way. They will see chimp brushing and a shark flossing!
Pop-Up Peekabook! Things That Go: Pop-Up Surprise Under Every Flap
This interactive book has bold pop-ups that make diggers, trucks, and cars jump from the pages when the flaps are lifted.
Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Rod Campbell
Children will try to find the perfect pet with this book. They will lift flaps and see a monkey, lion, and an elephant.
Where’s Spot by Eric Hill
This is a great bedtime book where children will delight in trying to find Spot.
Playtown: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Roger Priddy
Children will learn about busy scenes from around the town. This includes the airport, the hospital, and shops.
Lift-the-Flap Tap Farm by Roger Priddy
In this interactive book, children will learn all about the farm, from animals to crops to farm machines.
What’s in My Truck by Linda Bleck
Children will learn about various trucks making deliveries to different places. They can peek inside these fun trucks and see what’s inside.
First 100 Animals Lift-the-Flap: Over 50 Fun Flaps to Lift and Learn
This book will help babies and toddlers learn all about their first animals. There are over 50 flaps to lift that reveal hidden photographs of animals.
Do Cows Meow? by Salina Yoon
This is a simple and rhythmic book. Kids will happily imitate all kids of animal sounds after reading this book.
Do Crocs Kiss? by Salina Yoon
This book has fun text and colorful illustrations. Children will see lions, tigers, and bears, as well as snappy reptiles and other favorite creatures.
Peek-A-Who? by Nina Laden
This book has colorful pictures and simple rhyming texts. Children will delight in the anticipation of what’s hiding on the next page.
Winnie the Pooh’s Giant Lift-the-Flap Book by A.A. Milne and Ernest Shepard
Winnie-the-Pooh has an adventure involving shapes, colors, numbers, letters, and how to tell time.
Great list of books! Thanks for researching these all! Now to start reading them with the little one! Thanks!
No problem! I am glad you like the books.
Thanks for the great list! We LOVE books 🙂 We used to spend lots of time at the library, but now we’ve had to resort to buying more of our own books. These are great suggestions!
Our library allows us to browse books for 30 minutes. I miss the library programs. I am glad you like the books.