Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Press Here

Rate this book
Great for toddlers, preschoolers, and early readers to learn about cause and effect in a simple and engaging way.

Harness the power of imagination and interactivity: Press the yellow dot on the cover of this book, follow the instructions within, and embark upon a magical journey! Each page of this surprising book instructs the reader to press the dots, shake the pages, tilt the book, and who knows what will happen next! Children and adults alike will giggle with delight as the dots multiply, change direction, and grow in size! Especially remarkable because the adventure in Press Here occurs on the flat surface of the simple, printed page, this unique picture book about the power of imagination and interactivity will provide read-aloud fun for all ages!

Books for kids ages 4-8

56 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 2010

Loading interface...
Loading interface...

About the author

Hervé Tullet

234 books279 followers
Hervé Tullet is the creator of more than fifty children’s books, including Press Here, which has been translated into twenty-seven languages. He loves to provoke surprise with his books, as well as in the dynamic workshops that he takes part in. He lives in Paris and is celebrated internationally for his playful, inventive, and interactive storytelling.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
15,080 (62%)
4 stars
5,767 (23%)
3 stars
2,356 (9%)
2 stars
678 (2%)
1 star
368 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,968 reviews
Profile Image for Betsy.
Author 9 books3,010 followers
March 10, 2011
When we talk about interactive picture books we’re usually talking about pop-up books or tactile books with fuzzy/bumpy details. When we talk about picture books that break down the fourth wall, we’re usually talking about titles that approach the reader directly with a narrative like The Monster at the End of This Book or Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus or Can You Make a Scary Face So where do we slot the little French import Press Here by Herve Tullet? Interactive but also reliant on the paper format, this here’s an entirely new breed of book. One that has its finger firmly on the pulse of what kids are used to, while at the same time finding a way to both upset and exceed their expectations.

You know what kids love? Being told what to do. Seriously, it’s a thrill for them. Take Press Here. From the title onward children are given specific directions like “press the yellow dot again” and “try shaking the book”. For every action the child takes, the book seems to respond with the turn of a page. Dots flit and fly in all directions. Sometimes child readers turn out the lights. Other times the dots grow huge on the page with every clap of the reader. By the time you’ve reached the end all the book has to say is, “want to do it all over again?” and you can bet that every reader in the room, tall or small, will scream out an appreciative “YES!!!” in response.

I wonder . . . is this the first picture book of the picture book app age? Could you have published a book quite this specific ten or twenty years ago? Does Press Here (called just Un Livre in its native France) in fact mark the start of a whole new genre of children’s fiction? Which is to say, fiction for children that are familiar with interaction and, indeed, demand it. I say that in full knowledge of the fact that only a certain privileged segment of the current youthful population has the opportunity to play with interactive electronic toys. Still, I’ve enough faith in both the small techies and their non-electronic kin to believe that if you tell them to rub a circle in this book, they’ll still have the wherewithal to know to turn the page afterwards. I think.

I’ve heard people say that while an eBook or an app of a book may be amusing, it doesn’t have the smell of a book. Smell is important, I’ll grant, but I’ve sniffed enough picture books with nasty rotting cheapo glue in their spines to know that not being able to get an olfactory whiff of a title is sometimes a blessing in disguise. No, the real advantage any given book has over its electronic counterpart is the tactile experience. With screens all you’ll ever feel will be a slick, smooth surface. Books (ironically once deplored by the gatekeepers of children’s literature if they ever included interactive parts) have the distinct advantage of getting to be furry, fuzzy, softy, plushy, or downright chewable from the start. Normally such tactile books are relegated to babies. Yet every book is, in its way, a physical experience. Take Press Here. First off you’ve got these thick cardboard covers, clearly built to withstand some serious blows and shakes. Then you’ve the pages inside, which are shiny and thick enough to give you the impression that you’re really accomplishing something when you turn the page. And that, right there, is yet another advantage over the electronic form. While on a screen you can turn a "page" with a mere flick of your index finger, here kids get to revel the pleasure of lifting the thick luscious pages themselves. It’s a magic trick that never stops giving. The page has now become the lifting of a curtain on the world’s most basic stage.

As a children’s librarian I had to consider the readaloud potential of this book. Sure, it’s beautiful for one-on-one experiences. It would even work well with kids who’ve enough experience reading that they know what it’s saying at any given moment. But what about for storytimes with big groups of kids? Since the book is constantly telling “you” what “you” should do next, the reader would have to read the text and then do the instructions themselves. That could be fun, but if I know anything about toddlers and preschoolers, you know that you had better have some pretty long arms if you’re going read this aloud to them. Otherwise you might find them approaching you like small determined zombies, arms outstretched so that they might press and touch and rub and tap the book for themselves. At least you can get a big group to blow and clap their hands for the later portions of the story. That’s pretty good.

I imagine a picture book app for this book with something approaching mild horror. This is odd, particularly when you consider the debt this book owes to the mindset that accompanies that technology. Yet to make this into an app would render this book . . . ordinary. No different from any of the other downloadable games out there and, indeed, much less impressive. What sets Press Here apart from the pack is the fact that it is printed on paper. There’s a magic to the book that is akin to the magic of pop-up books. In paper there is power and Press Here taps into that. It is, I hope, the start of great new things to come with one of the oldest formats on earth.

For ages 3 and up.
Profile Image for Lisa Vegan.
2,826 reviews1,273 followers
July 22, 2011
I was pressed to read this book. Ha! I wasn’t expecting to like it but I ended up loving it.

It’s very clever. I like that children’s/readers’ actions “write the book” and that it’s an enjoyable activity, and that it helps young kids with fine motor skills, and counting skills and with learning colors, and directions (left, right, up, down). As readers follow the directions, it will seem to them that they are creating what’s on the next page. What a great idea!

This is a very entertaining, interactive book, and at the end kids are invited to read again, and will likely want to read (play) again.

I’m an adult and even I thought the reading experience was fun.

It’s such an obviously simple idea that it’s hard to give the book 5 stars, so I’ll say 4 ½ stars, but since I can’t star it 4 1/2 , I’ll give it 5 stars.
Profile Image for Suz.
1,268 reviews669 followers
August 14, 2017
Interesting concept. Instructions about what to do with a coloured button, which will make something exciting happen and flow onto the next page. Not just reading, but acting and following instruction. Shake the book, shake it harder. What will happen? Indy thought this was fun. Need more time to read stories in a calm environment when we have time for reading and relaxation. It's hard to do after a long day at pre school. We will read this again. Good thing I work in a library = long loan.
Profile Image for Arman.
287 reviews251 followers
May 15, 2023
کتابی بسیار بسیار خلاقه و لذت بخش برای کودکان و البته بزرگسالان :))

کتاب "اینجا را فشار بده" (با این انتخاب بد عنوان آن در فارسی)، از کتاب هایی است که نباید توسط والدین برای کودک خوانده بشود، بلکه از نوع کتاب های تعاملی است که باید توسط کودک و والدين یا مربی اجرا/بازی شود؛ والدین یا مربی از روی نوشته ها (دستورات) میخواند و کودک قرار است آنها را انجام بدهد: مثلا دايره ای را فشار دهد یا لمس کند، کتاب را سر و ته بکند، و ... .
قرار است بازی کردن این کتاب به ظاهر ساده، موجب هماهنگی دست ها و چشم در کودک شود و همچنین موجب تعامل و ارتباط بیشتر بین والدین و کودک شود.



پ ن: تشکر ویژه از فرزانه عزيز بابت معرفی و البته بازی کردن کتاب.
Profile Image for Caterina.
237 reviews87 followers
July 10, 2019
Brilliant interactive fun! Having seen me pressing, shaking, and tilting the book, my cat wanted in on the action. So when I finally closed the cover and set the book aside, he sat on it, pressing his paw exactly on the "press here" yellow dot on the cover. However, when nothing happened (not having turned the page) he made himself into a gigantic orange circle, covering the entire book, and fell asleep.
Profile Image for Mir.
4,892 reviews5,194 followers
December 4, 2019
This interactive picture book experience will, I suspect, by very your-mileage-may-vary depending on personality type. AS an adult I found it cute; as a child of the intended age I suspect I would have argued a bunch about how dumb it was. Maybe that's also beneficial?

I like that Tullet's books are all so out-of-the-box in such different ways.
Profile Image for Zoë.
328 reviews65.4k followers
Read
February 17, 2021
[Book #22 for my grad school Children's Lit class]
Profile Image for Wendy'sThoughts.
2,665 reviews3,272 followers
November 6, 2019
5 Truly Perfect Stars
* * * * *
Yes, This is NOT a Romance book or even a Mystery/Thriller. Yes, my reviewing a children's book is quite unusual. Well, sometimes I will experience something so impressive, I cannot stop myself from telling everyone about it.


Recently I became a Grandmother and our reading material covered all of the ones I had read with my children when they were little. Then more books arrived from relatives and others. It was eye-opening to see all these new books, creative and beautifully made.

Months have passed and our grandaughter's ability to understand more and more has increased which leads me...

To this book.

I was Stunned. The first time I read it with her, she was already familiar with it. I could see her anticipating what was coming next. She was captivated by the idea of doing all of the necessary things to make the book work.

The reason why I am singing the praises of this book is due to how perfectly it accomplishes its goal.
It is recommended for children from 4 years to 8 years. I can truthfully say, you can start with this book much much younger.

It works as a teaching tool and at first, it is just the reader doing all of the actions. But in no time, the child learns to point, understands clapping, counting, colors and how every action has a reaction.

The way the book is formatted, it becomes an experience the child wants to do over and over again. What is the best... the person reading with the child will not mind at all.

Such a win, win in bonding, learning and having very positive fun.

For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
Profile Image for Rana Heshmati.
564 reviews844 followers
February 6, 2017
ما با شهرکتاب مرکزی مثل کتابخانه رفتار می‌کنیم. این را دیدیم و همانجا با حانیه و ستاره و آرمینا نشستیم و خواندیمش (در واقع بازی کردیم!) و نمی‌توانید تصور کنید که چقدر به ما خوش گذشت!
Profile Image for Kelly.
Author 5 books8 followers
May 24, 2011
A dot is such a simple thing. A simple thing that turns into something magically fun in this marvelous new book by Hervé Tullet.

Tullet combines simple, colorful dots with simple, clear directions for a book bound to lead to interactive fun.

Things to love about this book: (not all of which are the usual sorts of things I talk about in reviews)

1. Its size. It is square (8-3/4" x 8-3/4").

2. Its cover. Its cover is made of good stiff cardboard of the sort used to make board books.

3. Its pages. They are not board-book pages, but they are a thick, heavy, glossy paper that feels sturdy enough to stand up to toddlers - the target market for this book.

4. Its text. It's not poetic or in any way convoluted; it's a series of simple instructions, with a bit of commentary. E.g., "READY?" (and on the next page) "PRESS HERE AND TURN THE PAGE."

5. Its suitableness for its target age range. This is a book that is targeted for kids who are learning how to follow directions. They are learning their manners and how to put their clothes on and how to line up for things at nursery school and such, and this book is (pardon the pun) spot on for them.

6. Its whimsy. The directions on one page "tilt the page to the left . . . just to see what happens"; the image on the next page shows the dots have bunched themselves up along the left edge of the page. Tullet never claims that there's anything magical going on, yet through the playfulness of the text (and the interaction of the reader), it feels like there's a little something magical happening.

I was pressing, rubbing, shaking and clapping along as I read the book, which I finished with a huge smile on my face - and I'm almost 47, yo, so just imagine how much more fun this book is for an actual child. Highly recommended for anyone with someone in the 2-7 age range around who wants to have some fun.

My thanks to the good folks at Chronicle Books for sending a review copy my way.
162 reviews55 followers
November 7, 2019
Occasionally a book comes along that requires you to stop, look, listen, rethink and really pay attention. This book demands your interaction and motivates you to turn the page in quite an extraordinary way. It encourages you to do some rather unbook-like behaviours, such as tip it, shake it, rub it, tap it or blow it. I love that and I think young children would love to do this too. It teaches us to engage with a page and to turn over expecting something to happen. As we become older readers, this engagement, the different perspectives we use to make sense of story have to happen abstractly. Here, we start by literally pressing a dot, standing the book up straight, blowing away a colour or clapping our hands.

I love the way the narrator talks to you and responds to your actions as you read the book. I love the oooops, hmmmm and whao moments, the ready praise and gentle encouragement. I love the fact that for young children this book must be shared, read out loud by an adult to enable the child to respond. Interaction with an adult, interaction with a book, plenty of fun and a book that everyone in the class would want to have a go at! No wonder it is a best seller and no wonder the pages have been printed on thick paper!
Profile Image for Abigail.
7,332 reviews221 followers
March 21, 2020
Originally published in France as Un Livre (literally, "A Book"), this innovative picture-book provides young children with a delightfully interactive reading experience. Beginning with a single yellow dot on a white page, as seen on the cover, the narrator instructs the reader to take various actions, each of which leads (or seems to lead) to various changes in the artwork, as they turn the page. Thus the single yellow dot becomes two dots, and one yellow dot turns red. Pressing and rubbing dots, shaking the book, turning the orientation of the pages, clapping the hands - all these contribute to changes in the book...

For such a simple book - no flaps to lift, no pop-ups or moving parts, no textured elements to touch and feel - Press Here is a marvelously involving book, one which prompts the young reader or listener to become physically involved in the reading process. Sometimes minimal is best, and that is certainly the case here, as Hervé Tullet breaks the fourth wall in unexpected and exciting ways. Recommended to anyone looking for interactive meta-fictional picture-books for younger children, toddlers and up.
Profile Image for Melody.
2,649 reviews287 followers
January 31, 2013
I loved this brilliant little book. It asks the reader to do something to a colored dot (press here, rub gently & etc.) and when the page is turned, it appears that the reader's action has changed the illustration. It's a lovely concept, and moreover, it's just plain fun to do. I have seen toddlers and preschoolers loving it at the library, I've read it with K-3 kids, and just last weekend talked to a 9 year-old who loved it as much as I do. That's not counting the adults I know who have to have it forcibly removed from their hands before they can rejoin the conversation. Check it out.
Profile Image for Glenda.
676 reviews47 followers
January 1, 2017
Picture books that offer insight into perspective and point of view appeal to me as I've always had a slightly skewed way of seeing the world. "Press Here" is another book about the power of imagination and creativity.
Profile Image for Leslie.
810 reviews33 followers
December 19, 2011
Press Here is magical—and a delight for any age. The daughter, who is not only a very cool tween, but a TAG reader of books well-above her age, was seen the other day on the floor of the Library with Hervé Tullet’s Press Here, a rather simple looking pre-school interactive book—at least, that is what I thought when I saw it. We were at the “Lucky Day” shelves of the Juvenile Section. I figured the book had been mistakenly shelved. It may have been, but Natalya was pressing and shaking and blowing across the pages. She insisted I take a turn with the book. And when we got it home, we insisted Sean take his turn as well.

The instructions in the book are simple. “Press here [on the yellow dot] and turn the page,” “Rub the dot on the left…gently,” “Tap the yellow dot 5 times,” “And five taps on the red…” What is marvelous is what happens when you do and turn the page. It is a magic trick. And while you are older and know that you could just flip the page and the change will occur without following instruction, it is more fun to play along; you have a want to suspend yourself in the magic. As Publishers Weekly writes, “The joy is in the tacit agreement between artist and reader that what’s happening is magic.”

The anticipation builds as you progress through the book and are asked to “tilt the page” this way and that, or clap so many times, or try to press on all the yellow dots that are spread out across the two pages.* What wonderfully whimsical thing will occur next? Even on the second or third pass through the book, or even experiencing the book with another, there is a smile, a delighted laugh ready. Press Here is a book you should not miss out on, regardless of age, or perhaps, especially because of your age.

————————

*on the last image (which is 3/4s the double-page) it was fun to watch the solution the person came up with to carry out the instruction. In a video I saw, the children pressed the yellow dots in succession. I spread out all my fingers to push them at the same time, Sean and Natalya used an arm.

noted: “Tullet’s brilliant creation proves that books need not lose out to electronic wizardry; his colorful dots perform every bit as engagingly as any on the screen of an iPad.” Publishers Weekly (April) which is something to get excited about.

L @ omphaloskepsis
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...
Profile Image for blueisthenewpink.
482 reviews40 followers
October 2, 2019
Nagyon vicces! :D az öt és fél éves annyira élvezte, hogy egymás után kétszer végigjátszotta, és nekiállt volna a harmadik körnek is :) a másfél éves segített tapsolni :D

Második nap is egymás után kétszer kellett olvasni, de a visszafelé játszás nem annyira működött.
Profile Image for Andrew.
602 reviews194 followers
December 30, 2015
I liked: everything about this incredibly creative book!
she liked: the ipad-like quality of changing pictures on real paper.
Profile Image for Travis.
Author 5 books53 followers
March 22, 2011
Over time, I’ve prattled on and on about the elements that make for quality kids’ books. Memorable characters, beautiful artwork, compelling plot, and so on and so forth. Today, let’s get more basic than that. What about a book you can hand to almost any kid and it would make them smile? What about a book that will provide some of the most eager page turns you’ve ever seen? Press Here, from the wildly creative French author/illustrator Hervé Tullet, has that ability. Simple in appearance, genius in execution. Sure to go down as one of my favorite picture books of 2011.

It all starts with a yellow dot and an invitation from an unseen narrator, “Press here and turn the page.” The reader obliges, only to discover that their innocent act has made another yellow dot appear. Press again and a third comes to life. Then things start getting wild. Rub the dots, they change color. Tap them five times, more appear. Shake the book, they scramble. Tilt the book, they slide. And don’t even ask what clapping does. After a raucous climax, the book ends where it began – with a yellow dot and an invitation, “Want to do it all over again?”

I would contend that Press Here is actually more interactive than many digital picture books. Touching, rubbing, shaking, blowing, tilting – can you name an app that registers all those different actions?

The design of the book is also memorable. Press Here arrives Sans jacket and sporting old school Golden Books-esque raw cover edges that leave (gasp!) exposed gray cardboard. The page stock is thick, helping in the wear and tear department.

An interactive book for interactive times, Press Here will please all comers. A must see.
Profile Image for Kaethe.
6,477 reviews497 followers
July 16, 2014
It was on the new shelf when I dropped books off at the library yesterday, so I grabbed it. Later, after supper, I found Tosh rooting through my library bag to see what I'd brought home. We "read" it together. We are by no means babies, and we were both mighty amused. Delightful.

Library copy
Profile Image for DaNae.
1,548 reviews81 followers
August 27, 2012
This may rival CAN YOU MAKE A SCARY FACE as the best story timebook ever. Just did it with 5 different Kindergarten classes and it was an overwhelming hit. Some of them really thought they had the power to effect what would happen on the next page. Apparently Tullet has several other companion picture books coming out this year. Bring it on I say. Meta at it's best.
Profile Image for J. Boo.
736 reviews25 followers
July 26, 2021
Press the dot, turn the page, and watch it change color. Turn the book to the side and shake it, and on the next page, see all the dots having fallen down, etc.

A mind-blowing magical illusion for both the 4 & 2 year olds, and a lot of fun for the parent. I didn't have any older children to experiment on but I'd guess six is probably the upper limit.
Profile Image for Jenny.
101 reviews
February 19, 2021
What an amazing book!!! I absolutely LOVED it! I had so much fun pushing, turning, and shaking the book! And my two-year old loved it too! He just wanted to keep shaking and shaking! And the best part of all...we were both smiling and laughing the entire time! :)
6 reviews
January 13, 2015
The book sounds very fun. I think it helps to learn how to count or numbers in very fun way. The most fun part is dots are bigger and bigger when readers clapping.
Profile Image for Paul.
1,830 reviews
November 12, 2016
Opening the first page, it felt like this was going to be a fun. And it was! Very simple, physically interactive, great use of what appear to be finger paints -- including fingerprints--in primary colors with a few guided suggestions. Whether three of us adults passing it around--maybe more fun to watch someone else turn the pages and experience it/experiment with it--or a group of 30 entering this--what a joyful group experience. Can't wait for my grandson to discover it at whatever age that happens. PS. I'm back after venturing further into other books created for children, and PRESS HERE continues to be at the high-water mark! It was the book that uncorked the bottle for my diving into illustrated children's literature. (First read January 1, 2012, and a bunch of times after that.)
Profile Image for آیت معروفی.
56 reviews8 followers
February 7, 2017
خیلی خوب بود. مجید خدابخش یکی از دوستانم بهم معرفی‌اش کرد. انتشارات دیبایه از آن نشرهای کودک گزیده کاری‌ست که هر کتابش تجربه‌ایست برای خودش.
کتاب تعاملی است. یعنی از بچه می‌خواهد کاری بکند و پیش برود. مثلا کتاب را تکان بدهد و بعد ورق بزند ببیند دایره‌هایی که توی صفحه‌ی قبل دیده چطور بهم ریخته است. یا مثلا دست بزند و محکم‌تر دست بزند و باز هم محکم‌تر دست بزند تا دایره‌های با هربار دست زدن و ورق زدن بزرگ‌تر بشوند.
این‌که نوینسده‌ای با چنین ایده‌ی ساده‌ای و فقط با استفاده از چند دایره‌ی رنگی و نقاشی بسیار ساده بتواند فضایی اینقدر دل‌چسب برای بچه‌هایی که دارند کتاب را می‌خوانند درست کند حسادت آدم را غلغلک می‌دهد!
فکر می‌کردم روح الله چون کتاب‌های زیادی خوانده این کتاب ممکن است برایش لوس و بچه‌گانه به نظر برسد. اما این‌طور نبود. هیجان زده‌اش کرد و سر شوقش آورد.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,968 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.