Spooky kids’ book requires torch to reveal extra details

Hide & Eek! is making print titles more engaging for children by uncovering new elements of the story when a light is shined directly onto the pages.

Getting kids to read a book when tablets and smartphones are so much more alluring is a difficult task. While ideas such as Smart PJ’s have married the two with children’s bedwear that can be scanned to load electronic stories, a new picture book called Hide & Eek! is making print titles more engaging by uncovering new elements of the story when a light is shined directly onto the pages.

Illustrated by Rebecca Sutherland with the help of design agency Hat-trick, the scary book uses translucent paper which in normal light appears blank, but reveals intricate illustrations and scary characters when a torch is shone underneath. Many kids want to disobey their parents by staying up after their light has been turned off for bedtime, but the book encourages them to do something productive like reading – rather than playing computer games – if they are going to misbehave. It also plays into the traditional idea of ghost stories being told into the dark. The video below shows how the book works:

By offering an interactive print book that is more dynamic than the usual words on a page, Hide and Eek! offers an example of how educational books for kids can compete with digital publishing. Are there other ways of making books more engaging for children learning to read?

Spotted by Murray Orange, written by Springwise