The attraction of interactive books

While parents are struggling to deal with their children’s addiction to TV, smartphones and tablets, interactive books are a useful way to pull their kid’s attention away from modern technology while encouraging their learning and imagination. Since their introduction in Vietnam, these books have proven to be an interesting way to entertain children as well as a useful tool in the fight against counterfeit and fake books.

A colourful page from an interactive book on ‘Construction sites’ for children by Dinh Ti publishing house (Photo: zing.vn)
A colourful page from an interactive book on ‘Construction sites’ for children by Dinh Ti publishing house (Photo: zing.vn)

Interactive books have drawn great interest from children and their parents at book fairs. Today, books are not simply presented with words and images, they are now integrated with movable pictures and 3D animations, allowing readers to enjoy the experience as if they are watching a movie in a mini cinema.

Some books utilise lighting so that parents shine the beam of a light through the page ''windows'' to cast pictures on the wall when they read with their child. Others use non-paper materials such as plastic, nilon and cloth, creating sound effects to attract the interest of children.

Many books are presented in an extra big size with pages measuring 2 metres in length, providing rich knowledge and vivid images on a wide range of topics from daily objects, natural life, and the world around us.

Interactive books have now become key products targeting children for many publishing houses in Vietnam, including Kim Dong, Tre (Youth), Nha Nam, Dinh Ti, and Phu Nu (Women).

One of the publishing houses with the largest number of interactive book titles is Dinh Ti. Since it launched its first interactive book three years ago, Dinh Ti publishing house has released 20 interactive book titles targeting different ages from toddlers and kindergarten kids to schoolchildren.

Dinh Ti has established itself as a leading publishing house in this style of book, by offering customers with assorted topics from foreign languages, fairy tales, adventure, and life skills.

In addition to translating and publishing foreign copyrighted books, Dinh Ti has also released books by Vietnamese authors.

Today, with modern printing technology and design techniques, interactive books have become a useful tool in the fight against counterfeit and fake books, which is pervading in Vietnamese market.

While it takes around 2-3 months to edit and complete a traditional book, the work in creating an interactive book requires up to 2-3 months with more sophisticated and meticulous stages. Interactive books also require more modern technology with higher quality paper, which is also acts as a deterrent against counterfeit and fake books.

In addition, the price of interactive books is much higher than traditional books, which can discourage those involved in the making or distribution of pirated books.