Pop-up, lift-the-flap and push-and-pull books for children
Pop-up and interactive books bring stories and facts to life in ways plain pages never could. A flap to lift, a tab to pull, a hidden picture to find – every movement draws children deeper into the text. These books blend play with reading, building fine motor skills, coordination, and curiosity along the way. For babies, the textures and sounds spark early engagement. For preschoolers, linking words with actions helps language click, and for older children, it makes reading feel more like playtime. This list features books by Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler, Jan Pieńkowski, Robert Sabuda, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, David McKee, Moira Butterfield, Clotilde Perrin, Charlotte Guillain, and Louise Greig.
Pop-up and interactive books for children – our recommendations
Zoom: Rainforest Adventure by Susan Hayes & Susanna Rumiz
In this bright and exciting non-fiction book for nursery and preschool children, young explorer Lin takes us into the rainforest. Taking her toy money along for the ride, we meet snakes, hummingbirds, macaws and more in a vibrant board book landscape. Complete with cut-out windows, pop-ups and pink dolphins, this fact book is a delight to read and share. Read our full review.
Convertible Pirate Ship by Miles Kelly
Convertible Pirate Ship makes storytime feel like setting sail for adventure. Children can read about daring pirates on the hunt for treasure, then climb inside the fold-out ship to steer their own crew. The playmat adds extra fun, turning the floor into part of the story. Along the way, kids can rescue castaways, dodge whirlpools, and spot sea monsters – all while learning new skills without even realising it.
Eco Warriors: My First Heroes by Campbell Books
2-5-year-olds will meet Greta Thunberg, David Attenborough, Isatou Ceesay, and John Muir through interactive scenes that show how each has helped the planet. Push, pull, and slide features make every page come alive, turning learning into play. Aimed at preschoolers, it introduces big ideas about nature in simple, engaging ways, encouraging curiosity about the world and showing that even small steps can help care for the environment.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Louise Greig and Sarah Massini
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s timeless tale is reimagined in this pop-up edition of The Little Prince. Readers follow the young prince as he meets a stranded pilot and travels to strange, wonderful planets. Themes of friendship, love, and curiosity unfold through intricate pop-up scenes that lift the story off the page. It’s a fresh, interactive way for children to experience the charm and wisdom of this classic adventure.
The Weather by Maike Biederstadt
7-9-year-olds will discover five types of weather through detailed pop-up scenes, from a storm at sea to a spinning tornado and a bright rainbow. Each spread uses clear, simple text to explain how these weather events form and what happens when the weather changes. Snow, sunshine, and storms all take their turn. The final pages touch on climate change, giving young readers a gentle introduction to how the planet is shifting.
The Remarkables by Clotilde Perrin
Clotilde Perrin’s book brings 40 imaginative kids to life, each with their own quirks and “superpowers.” Every double-page spread dives into a child’s unique traits, blending vibrant illustrations with playful descriptions. It’s a celebration of individuality, encouraging readers to embrace creativity and self-expression. Packed with charm and personality, this book isn’t just for kids – it’s a gem for parents and teachers too, sparking conversations about empathy, differences, and what makes us all wonderfully unique.
Our Seasons by Sue Lowell Gallion and Lisk Feng
Across the world, spring, summer, autumn, and winter bring their own sights and sounds. This clever fold-out globe lets 2-6 year olds explore each season through bright illustrations, rhymes, and simple facts about changing weather. As the pages unfold, readers can see how the planet shifts through the year. Mixing story and science, it turns learning about the seasons into a hands-on adventure.
How Trains Work by Clive Gifford, illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock
All aboard for a journey through the world of trains. From roaring steam engines to sleek high-speed rail, children can explore tunnels, bridges, and famous routes like the Trans-Siberian Railway. With flaps to lift and pages to unfold, the book reveals how trains run above and below ground. Packed with diagrams, facts, and surprises, it’s a lively, detailed guide for curious 6-8-year-old readers.
The Human Body by Richard Walker, illustrated by Rachel Caldwell
Step into the shoes of a Victorian medical student and explore the human body in intricate pop-up detail. Each page peels back layers to reveal bones, muscles, organs, and the brain, complete with notes and sketches inspired by 19th-century anatomy books. The result is a fascinating hands-on guide that makes the body’s complex systems clear, vivid, and surprisingly easy to understand for 7-13-year-olds. Highly recommended.
The Skies Above My Eyes by Charlotte Guillain, illustrated by Yuval Zommer
The adventure starts on the ground and climbs skyward, past city rooftops, aircraft, and weather balloons to the far edges of the solar system. Stretching over two metres, the spectacular concertina pages are packed with bold illustrations and quick facts about everything above us, from buzzing insects to distant galaxies. On the way back down, readers trace clouds, weather, and wildlife, ending on a quiet hilltop – a perfect spot to look up and imagine more. An amazing book!
Encyclopedia Prehistorica Sharks and Other Sea Monsters by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart
Travel back in time to explore the prehistoric oceans, home to ancient sharks, giant squid, sea scorpions, and other long-extinct creatures. More than 35 incredible pop-ups bring megalodon, Dunkleosteus, and ammonites bursting from the page, while flaps reveal facts about early fish, whale ancestors, and the fossil discoveries of Mary Anning. With its intricate paper engineering and vivid detail, this hands-on book for 7+ year olds dives deep into the history of life beneath the waves.
The Incredible Pop-Up Mummy by Moira Butterfield, illustrated by Quang & Lien
Step into ancient Egypt with layered pop-ups and lift-the-flap surprises that reveal the secrets of Tutankhamun’s tomb and the process of mummification. Each page is packed with detail, showing the rituals, treasures, and craftsmanship of this remarkable civilisation. Created with input from an Egypt Exploration Society expert, it celebrates 100 years since Tutankhamun’s discovery. Perfect for 7+ year olds, this amazing pop-up book turns history into an immersive, hands-on adventure.
Haunted House by Jan Pieńkowski
Step inside six pop-up rooms packed with spooky surprises, moving parts, and hidden flaps. Haunted House takes readers through a bizarre mansion where portraits talk, slime drips down the stairs, and odd creatures lurk in every corner. A visiting doctor guides the way as each scene reveals a playful scare, from an octopus in the kitchen to a ghost in the bedroom. First published in 1979, Jan Pieńkowski’s classic still delights and creeps out in equal measure at Halloween with its humour, bold artwork, dark moments and clever design.
Encyclopedia Prehistorica Dinosaurs by Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart
Unfold a prehistoric world with this detailed pop-up guide to dinosaurs and their 180-million-year history. More than 35 interactive pop-ups bring the era to life, from a lunging Tyrannosaurus to erupting volcanoes. Each spread mixes vivid paper engineering with clear facts on species, habitats, and extinction theories. With pronunciation guides and the latest research, it’s a hands-on, visually striking introduction to dinosaurs for 5+ year olds.
The Science Timeline Wallbook by Christopher Lloyd
Unfold six feet of discovery with this timeline of science and technology, stretching from the Stone Age to the present day. More than 1,000 images and captions chart breakthroughs across seven fields, from space and medicine to invention. Key moments appear as playful newspaper articles, with quizzes and letters to the editor scattered throughout. Made in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History, it’s part story, part wall display, and a visual feast for inquisitive 7+ year olds.
The Tree of Life by Nalini Nadkarni
Lift-the-flap pages take readers on a tour of the world’s tree habitats, from towering redwoods to sprawling banyans. Each spread reveals the animals, plants, and fungi that call these trees home. Children can spot orangutans swinging through Asian forests, elephants feeding on African baobabs, and koalas dozing in eucalyptus trees. Along the way, the book explores how trees shape ecosystems and cultures, with an index and glossary for curious 5-8 year olds who want to dig deeper.
Alphabet Street by Jonathan Emmett, illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius
Lift-the-flap pages introduce animal shopkeepers and rhyming text for every letter from A to Z, each matched to a themed store. The book folds out into a bustling high street scene, giving children a playful way to learn letters and build vocabulary. With bright illustrations and plenty to spot, it invites young readers to read, explore, and imagine. Perfect for 3+ year olds, it also doubles as a colourful room display or interactive concertina frieze.
Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Ocean by Axel Scheffler
Flip and mix ocean animals to make more than 121 funny new creatures, each with its own name and rhyme. Split pages let children swap heads and tails to create endless, laugh-out-loud combinations. Alongside the silliness are real facts about squids, lobsters, and other sea life, all shown in bright, lively illustrations. Perfect for preschoolers and emerging readers, it sparks imagination, wordplay, and a love of the underwater world. Highly recommended.
My First Elmer by David McKee
Elmer, the patchwork elephant, starts to wonder what it means to be different in a herd of grey elephants. This board book edition brings the classic story to 0-2 year olds, with sturdy, shaped pages made for little hands. Bright, bold artwork and simple text guide babies and toddlers through Elmer’s cheerful journey of friendship, self-discovery, and belonging – an interactive introduction to a timeless favourite.
The Gruffalo: A Push, Pull and Slide Book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Push, pull, and slide your way through the world of The Gruffalo in this interactive board book for young children. Toddlers can meet the mouse, fox, owl, snake, and of course the Gruffalo, while moving parts bring each scene to life. With short, playful rhymes based on the classic story, it’s a fun first step into the forest for preschoolers – and a charming 25th-anniversary edition for families to share.
Click the buttons below to purchase all of the books in this pop-up and interactive list, as well as class sets of any of these books and many more, from Bookshop.org UK. Or buy the 20 most popular titles from this list from Amazon – ideal for gifts or your classroom library.
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Interactive and pop-up book resources for teachers
- Science Friday – Pop-Up Book Engineering offers a step-by-step classroom activity with templates to design simple tabs, levers and layered mechanisms, linking literacy with basic engineering for primary aged pupils.
- CLPE – Book-making teaching approach provides practical guidance, sequences and exemplars to help pupils plan, write, illustrate and bind their own books, supporting EYFS/primary literacy.
- What on Earth? Books – Science Teacher Guide (PDF) supplies printable activities, enquiry questions and discussion prompts themed around science timelines, suitable for extending non-fiction reading and cross-curricular work.
- Science Museum Group Learning Resources offers free, classroom-ready activities across STEM – useful for engineering mechanisms, the human body, and materials to complement interactive books.
- National Railway Museum learning provides visit guides and education materials ideal for How Trains Work and transport themes at KS1–2.
- Natural History Museum: Rocks, fossils and dinosaurs (KS2) supports prehistoric life topics to pair with Sabuda/Reinhart’s dinosaur and sea-creature titles.
- Met Office – Schools offers structured units and a teacher guide for weather, seasons and climate; use alongside early years push-and-pull titles on weather and seasons.
- Royal Geographical Society: Weather & climate (KS2) includes mapped enquiries and data-handling tasks that sit well with concertina/giant fold-out skies and space-themed books.
- British Museum: What is mummification? (KS2) provides step-by-step explanations and downloads to pair with The Incredible Pop-Up Mummy.
- Seven Stories (National Centre for Children’s Books): Jan Pieńkowski spotlight gives context and discussion starters for Haunted House and silhouette/paper-cut illustration.
- University of Warwick WMG: Paper engineering scheme of work offers lesson plans introducing simple mechanisms so pupils can prototype their own pop-ups.
- Cambridge University Library: Movable books in schools outlines hands-on ways to use pop-ups, pull-tabs and lift-the-flap books for enquiry and bookmaking.
- V&A teachers’ resources include free KS3–5 materials on design processes and materials that can inspire D&T paper-engineering projects in upper primary.
BISAC YJNF001000 – JUVENILE NONFICTION / Activity Books | Thema YN, YBG
