An illustrated history of Interactive books Part 0: Introduction, by The Booknook Librarian
Introduction
The Wandelgek has an education and professional past as a documentalist, information specialist, knowledge manager and LIBRARIAN.
It does show in lots of my travel blogposts where I linked my travels on books, like e.g. blogposts about Brussels related to François Schuiten, or blogposts about me following into the steps of classic British Children’s Literature books and their authors and illustrators, or my endeavors in China where I relived Paul Theroux’s travel stories or my blogpost on the use of maps in literature or my attempts to rewrite fairy tales in slightly darker versions, or my visits to the world of Harry Potter, which are in a more storytelling like style. All of this will be collected soon in the Library section of my blogsite (see the main navigation menu). But there is more than just travel books and because this blogsite is also about ENJOYING LIFE, JOIE DE VIVRE, CARPE DIEM; it is time to get into writing some more about my book related hobby’s and this blogpost marks the start of that.
The Wandelgek has a profile in Bluesky, named: The BooknookLibrarian. Most upcoming book related posts will appear on this Bluesky profile as well as on The Wandelgek profile on IG.
The BooknookLibrarian on Bluesky
Futhermore I will post the full text blogposts on The Wandelgek weblog (where you are now) and collect these in the Library section.
Enjoy!!!
The Wandelgek has collected an extensive collection of interactive books through many years and has delved into the history of this type of books for a long while
Interactive books have a much longer and stranger history than many readers suspect, and pop‑up fairy tales are really just the latest act in a very old paper theater.
Interactive structures evolved alongside different types of pop‑up books, from didactic volvelles (wheel charts/information wheels) and theatrical dioramas to minimalist art objects and over‑the‑top fold‑out spectacles.
What is an interactive book?
An interactive book is a book that requires the reader to do something physical or digital beyond simply turning pages and looking at static text and images. It turns reading from a passive experience into an active one through built‑in features that respond to the reader’s actions.
Core idea
An interactive book invites active participation: the reader touches, moves, opens, taps, slides, or otherwise manipulates parts of the book to access content.
That interaction can be digital (taps, clicks, audio/video triggers, quizzes and games) or physical (paper flaps, pop‑ups, envelopes, gadgets).
Digital interactive books
In digital form, interactive books (often called interactive ebooks or interactive textbooks) add software‑driven elements to the same idea of active engagement:
- Embedded audio, video, animations and 3D models.
- Clickable hotspots, hyperlinks, quizzes, games, and simulations.
- Interactive diagrams, maps, timelines and branching story paths.
- Personalization features (notes, highlighting, adaptive questions, alternate routes).
The reader must interact — tapping, dragging, answering, choosing — for the full text, media or feedback to appear.
Tis blogpost series will not further explore the Digital interactive books, but it will extensively delve into:
Physical interactive books
In print, “interactive books” usually means books with tactile or mechanical elements such as:
- Pop‑ups, V‑folds, box and diorama structures.
- Pull‑tabs, wheels (volvelles), sliders and rotating disks.
- Flaps, doors, layered windows and lift‑the‑flap elements.
- Loose components and props in envelopes or pockets (letters, tickets, maps, cards).
Again, the key point is that part of the meaning is only revealed when the reader actually performs an action—pulling the tab to animate a character, opening an envelope to read a letter, or unfolding a structure to see the full scene.
History of interactive books
Interactive books have a much longer and stranger history than many readers suspect, and pop‑up fairy tales are really just the latest act in a very old paper theater. Long before cardboard dragons erupted from children’s pages, monks and scholars were already cutting, pasting, and rotating bits of parchment to make knowledge literally move in front of the reader’s eyes.
Interactive book and Pop up book design through the ages …
In upcoming blogposts I will gradually go through centuries of (physical) interactive book history and will illustrate all the intricacies of the trade of being an interactive book designer, a pop up book designer or better: A paper engineer.
What is a Paper engineer?
A paper engineer is a designer who plans and builds three‑dimensional or movable structures out of flat sheets of paper or card, often for pop‑up books, cards, displays and similar objects. The role combines artistic design with very practical problem‑solving about folds, pivots, layers and glue tabs so the piece works mechanically, lies flat when closed (a book or a postal card) needs to be able to open and close again), and survives repeated use.
You will be led through the ages of interactive design and paper engineering, learning about the most important developments, the most important interactive designers and paper engineers and the different interactive book types.
Curious yet?
Read further in my upcoming blogpost(s) and please subscribe, follow and engage to my profiles on IG and Bluesky.