Are children's books too gimmicky?

Remember when a book was just that - a book? And all the entertainment a reader needed was a good old fashioned story?

Children's bookshelves are very different today. I don't know if the demand came from the kids, or if it's simply a case of publishers becoming more inventive with how they catch our eye, but children's books have come a long way from simple paper, words and a story to be told.

For today's children, the story is only a very small part of the picture. You can get books that are really a puzzle, like Where's Wally, books that make noises when you press the right buttons, ones that make hideously honky smells, a book that's really a monster, and my personal definition of hell,  jigsaw books. Seriously, who thought a book with masses of tiny pieces that fall out when you open it was ever going to work?

There's Chewy, Gooey, Rumble Plop!, a book with a giant plastic tongue attached, and a fold out 3-D toilet inside - though given that it's about the digestive system, it could have been a lot worse. This book now has a spin-off called The Icky Sticky Snot and Blood Book - I dread to think what pops out of that. The giant green bogey on the cover gives a clue.

Augmented reality - say what? 

I thought I'd seen it all, and then I encountered the Augmented Reality Book. This is a new type of children's book that links up with your computer. Once you've downloaded the software, children can hold their book up in front of the screen to see 3D images appear. In the new Disney Cars 2 Augmented Reality Book, you hold up the discs included with the book in front of your computer and can use them to play a driving game.

I can see how books with gimmicks like these can be great for hooking in children who are reluctant to read. For the child who'd rather be playing with his toys than reading, perhaps having a book with a Lego figure on the front is a good way to get him to pick up a book. I know my eight year old son has ended up reading twice as much as he normally would by the Doctor Who two in one novels - these have a double gimmick in that they're based on a TV character, and when you've read one novel you can flip it over to find another one at the back.

And in our house this summer we have developed our own book-reated gimmick. Daughter has been watching too much of The Apprentice and announces: "I am Lord Bookworm"  telling her younger brother "You are the Apprentice Bookworm. If you don't read at least 4 books a week - you're fired!" Apparently she's going to teach him skills including how to read whilst walking down the street without bumping into a lamppost. Now that's a gimmick worth having.

Do your children like their books to have added extras? What do you think of books with gimmicks?