Whenever I read a review of a children's book that includes the word "interactive" I envision flaps to lift, tabs to pull, pop-up pages and all sorts of things that could be torn or worn out. I consider Press Here to be the most ingenious interactive book for children I've ever seen, and it doesn't have a flap, tab or pop-up anywhere. What it does have is a single yellow dot in the middle of a page, with the instructions to press the dot and turn the page. Voila! Two yellow dots. Do it again, and there are three. Subsequent instructions lead to new colors, more dots, dots sliding this way and that, getting bigger and smaller. And all the while, there are subtle little concepts like counting, patterns, left and right, color mixing. A preschooler will need someone to read the instructions to make the book work. But I've watch teens and adults caught up in the fun of this book and buying in to the ruse that the actions are necessary to make the dots do their tricks. This is a great gift book; just don't be surprised if you see the older sibling or cousin (or grandparent for that matter) of the child you give it to shaking the book or clapping over the pages.
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