Saying that characters “leap off the page” of a book is usually considered a figurative remark. But, in the case of primary teacher Frankie O’Reilly‘s children’s novel, it is quite literally true.

Ms O’Reilly‘s book, The Boy with his Head Stuck in a Book, is an augmented-reality novel. This means that each page can be scanned using a tablet or smartphone.

“Characters come out of the page at you, and you can interact with them,” Ms O’Reilly said. “Children have a real 3D version of what’s going on in the text.”

The first children’s book to include an augmented-reality element - The French Connection by Martin King - was published in 2014. Penguin has released a series of classic novels, such as Great Expectations, with augmented-reality covers.

But Ms O’Reilly‘s book is thought to be the first to be written with the key stage 2 curriculum in mind.

The book has its origins in a trend that the teacher noticed among her Year 6 pupils at Throckley Primary, in Newcastle upon Tyne.

She said: “Year 6 Sats were really leaning towards classical fiction, like Treasure Island, The Jungle Book and White Fang. And the boys in my class were so switched off. They didn’t want it. They were just really disengaged.”

Ms O’Reilly, therefore, wrote a poem  - the original version of The Boy with his Head Stuck in a Book - in order to encourage these pupils to read. It tells the story of a boy who does not like reading, but is forced to go to the library. There he is introduced to snippets and highlights from 16 novels, from classics such as Oliver Twist and The Jungle Book to more contemporary books, such as Jurassic Park and the Harry Potter series.

‘Novelty’ novel

But the teacher realised that this story alone would not be enough. “If I put an iPad in front of the boys, instead of putting a book there, they’re just more inclined to read what’s on it,” she said. “Which is quite sad, really, isn’t it?

So she introducted the augmented-reality element to her book. Now, as pupils read, Tarzan comes swinging through the vines towards them, or they might witness a mutiny on board a sailing ship.

And, if pupils find themselves interested in a particular piece of novelistic action, they can then request the full-length versions of the texts from which these moments of interactive action were drawn.

“It’s a bit of novelty, I guess,” Ms O’Reilly said. “But the boys have a book in their hands now, and that’s exactly what I wanted.”

The book will be available via Amazon and the augmented-reality element can be viewed via a free app called Zappar.

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