Board Books as an Active Verb

Guest Post by Carrie Finison

Board books are hot! According to a November, 2025, article in School Library Journal, board books sales increased 38% from 2020-24. Even back in 2019, Publishers Weekly noted that stores like Target and Barnes & Noble were increasing the shelf space dedicated to board books in their stores.

Board book readers don’t just read books passively. They DO books actively. What should writers consider when developing board book manuscripts for the youngest readers? Six authors who have found recent success with board books share their insights, and how they brought interactivity – often key to the success of a board book – into their work.

Tell us about your board books!

Rock ’n’ Roll, Baby! by David McMullin and Allison Black (Random House BFYR, 2026)

David: Rock ’n’ Roll, Baby! is a concept book exploring the many different types of rock music, from punk and country to hip-hop and folk. Each type of music connects to a different part of a baby’s day from morning to bedtime.

Heartfelt by Lisa Frenkel Riddiough and Abbey Bryant (Workman Kids, 2026)

Lisa: Heartfelt is a touch and feel book that uses compound words to tell a simple story of love and friendship, while showcasing the magic of connection: words connect, senses connect, and people connect. Wordplay is at the heart of my writing, and helping the youngest of readers feel like they can read through combined images is pure joy.

Breathe A Rainbow by Julie Koon (Abrams, 2026)

Julie: Breathe A Rainbow is an interactive book that invites children to trace simple, textured shapes as they breathe in and out. Each page features different feelings, and helps children explore emotions in a tactile way.

Night Prints by Kari Allen and Kim Smith (Little Simon, 2026)

Kari: Night Prints, a companion to my wintertime board book, Whose Prints?, is about a nighttime walk with a parent and a child who experience all the sights and sounds of the night. I love a summertime night walk and imagining what all the creatures do after the sun goes down.

Love-a-by: A Bedtime Lullaby by Laura Sassi and Janna Mattia (Zonderkidz, 2026)

Laura: Love-a-by is a rhyming celebration of the special bond between caregiver and child, inspired by my daughter who called lullabies “love-a-bies” when she was a toddler.

Touch a Truck Day by Carrie Finison and Viola Wang (Chronicle, 2026)

Carrie: Touch a Truck Day evokes the experience of attending a community touch-a-truck event – where kids get to sit in the drivers’ seats and explore inside and outside all kinds of trucks. As a parent, I had tons of fun visiting trucks with my kids and I wanted to recreate that excitement in book form.

Why do you think young children are drawn to interactive books?

Kari: For younger children, books are a kind of toy. Any interactive element adds another playful layer! It sends the message that books are fun and entertaining at a very young age.

Julie: As a preschool teacher, I see how multisensory experiences help kids explore, interact, and learn about the world. When children can use all of their five senses to touch, move, see, and hear a book, not only do they have more fun, but it creates stronger neural pathways in their brain for deeper learning.

Lisa: Interactive books bring a layer of fun that invites the youngest of readers to the page. This invitation starts the process of becoming a reader. Even if they cannot yet make out the words, the actions give the young reader confidence and comfort in the world of books.

How is your book interactive – what will kids DO while reading it?

Some books invite readers to sing along or play a game…

David: Kids love music. The rhyming verses of Rock ’n’ Roll, Baby! are set to the rhythm of the lullaby, Rock-a-Bye Baby. The whole book can be sung to that. Kids love being sung to, and depending on their age, they can sway, clap, or sing along.

Laura: I envisioned that Love-a-by would be read in a cozy lap at bedtime, perhaps rocking in a rocker, and, in the spirit of lullabies, that it could even be sung or hummed by caregiver and child. The illustrator enhanced the book’s interactivity by hiding hearts on each spread for toddlers to find.

Some books invite readers to touch…

Lisa: Heartfelt begins with a literal heart made of felt that little fingers can touch and feel. The title alone begs for interactivity. The illustrations add an emotional feeling as well. As each compound word is revealed, there is something to feel, both literally through touch, and emotionally. The final spread combines two words that culminate in a pop-up ending presenting young readers with the ultimate connection: friendship.

Julie: In Breathe A Rainbow, children can touch calming textures and follow prompts to trace stars, hearts, and ocean waves as they breathe through their feelings. The interactive elements help children learn emotional regulation skills in a fun way.

Some books invite readers to seek, find, and uncover things…

Kari: Night Prints has die-cuts (cutouts through to the next page), which allow the child to see a peek of the prints on the following page. Rhythmic clues help them guess what’s on the other side. I had a guessing book I loved as a child, and still remember the joyful feeling of turning the page and seeing the answers.

Carrie: I wanted Touch a Truck Day to feel exploratory, like a real touch-a-truck event. Tabs across the top let the reader choose which truck to visit first, the same way they would in a parking lot full of real trucks. Flaps let the reader see the important features inside each truck, and the text is written as though the child is sitting in the truck, pretending to be the firefighter, ambulance driver, tow truck driver, or mail carrier.

What tips do you have for writers who are thinking about writing for the youngest readers?

David: This is when to put on your creativity hat. Read a bunch of board books and imagine how you could do something different. Try repeated text, and asking questions directly to the reader.

Lisa: Let simplicity be your guide. It’s not that simplicity is easy, but it comes with clarity. Choose a simple glimmer in your own life, like hearts made of felt, and find a way to craft it into a book.

Julie: Create a paper book dummy to try out any interactive elements. It is always eye-opening for me to pretend I am a child reading the book and see if I can come up with ideas to make it more interesting and engaging.

Kari: Interactivity needs to serve the story! It can’t have flaps just to have flaps; they need to have a purpose. Go to the bookstore and see what’s on the shelf. It’s bursting with creativity. Looking at what’s out there always helps me think outside the box. 

Laura: Board books have very simple storylines that tie into the experiences of toddler-aged children. They are just discovering the wonders of things like colors, days of the week, seasons, the rhythms of daily life, and the joy of seeing animals, trucks, bugs, and so on. Try to think through the eyes of a toddler.

Carrie: Think about the language of your story. What is going to make a child (and parent!) reader want to return again and again? A fun refrain to repeat out loud, rollicking rhymes, juicy, just-right words. The way your story is told is just as important as what you are telling.

Do you have a favorite interactive board book that you *didn’t* write – perhaps a book or author that you recommend writers look to for inspiration?

David: Peek-a Who? by Nina Laden is a perfect combination of a guessing game, fun cut-outs, rhyme, and even with all of that, it’s quite simple.

Lisa: Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt has it all and certainly inspired me to create Heartfelt. Beyond that, my favorite interactive books are the Poke-a-Dot! Books from Melissa & Doug. Pressing those little buttons and hearing that “pop” is so satisfying!

Julie: One of my favorites is Song of the Birds by Isabel Otter and Clover Robin. Each page has sound buttons that play bird songs. It’s so fun to be able to match the song to the bird and then hear it in real life!

Kari: I love Aaron Becker’s You Are Light series. They are so pretty!  Also, the Llamaphones series by Janik Coat.

Laura: Janet and Allen Ahlberg’s classic board book Peek-a-boo! was a perennial favorite at our house when my kids were little. Each page features a pre-cut hole that the child peeks through before turning the page.

Carrie: I can still recite The Going To Bed Book by Sandra Boynton by heart, even though my kids are now college-aged. There’s definitely something to be learned from her books about how simplicity, silliness, rhythm, and rhyme appeal to young readers.

Board Books, Baby! is a group of over a dozen book creators who came together over a shared love of board books. Follow them on Instagram @boardbooksbaby