{"id":3463,"date":"2026-10-08T23:52:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T15:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shmoualsalamart.com\/blog\/?p=3463"},"modified":"2026-10-08T23:52:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T15:52:35","slug":"what-software-is-used-to-make-interactive-books-4a03-392a78","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shmoualsalamart.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/08\/what-software-is-used-to-make-interactive-books-4a03-392a78\/","title":{"rendered":"What software is used to make interactive books?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever scanned a kid\u2019s tablet and watched them giggle as a character in a story blew up a virtual balloon, tapped a hidden door to unlock a new page, or dragged a firefly to light up a dark forest, you\u2019ve dipped into an interactive book. As someone who sells these books (y\u2019know, the actual interactive ones, not just PDF picture books with a few clickable links), I get asked all the time: \u201cWhat software even makes these? It\u2019s not like typing in Word, right?\u201d Let\u2019s break this down, no stuffy jargon, just the real tools we use day to day\u2014and why picking the right one isn\u2019t just about coding, it\u2019s about keeping the magic for little readers (or big ones, no judgment, interactive books for adults slap too) intact. Interactive Books<\/a><\/p>\n

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First off, let\u2019s get one thing straight: interactive books aren\u2019t for every software. If you think you can knock out a whole interactive story in Google Docs, think again. You need tools that handle moving parts, user choices, audio, video, and that whole \u201cyour click changes the next line\u201d vibe. Some are built for total beginners, some are for coders who live and breathe GitHub, and a lot of us mix and match because no single tool does everything perfectly. That\u2019s the tea, trust me.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the big one that\u2019s been a game-changer for small to mid-sized teams like ours: Adobe InDesign. Wait, I know what you\u2019re thinking\u2014\u201cAdobe? That\u2019s for designers, right?\u201d Hear me out. Before we switched, we were using a messy mix of Canva templates and basic HTML builders that kept crashing when we added a sound effect. InDesign has this wild, underrated feature called EPUB Interactive. It\u2019s not new, but it\u2019s gotten so good in the last couple years that it\u2019s our go-to for 70% of our kid\u2019s book line. Here\u2019s how it works: you lay out your pages just like a regular book\u2014text, images, that soft watercolor style you love for picture books\u2014then you add \u201cinteractive elements\u201d with a few clicks, no fancy code. Want a button that plays a puppy bark when tapped? Just draw the button, link it to an audio file, and boom. Want to make a character\u2019s hat move when you drag it? Add a \u201cmotion trigger\u201d and set the path. The best part? It exports natively to EPUB3, which is the standard for most e-readers, tablets, and even Apple Books. No extra converting, no glitches where the button shows up in the wrong spot. The only downside? It\u2019s a subscription, and if you\u2019re someone who\u2019s never opened Adobe in your life, the learning curve is real\u2014like, first few projects we had a designer spend 10 extra hours just figuring out how to link audio to a tap. But once you get the hang of it? It\u2019s smooth sailing, and the final product feels like a real book, not a cheap app.<\/p>\n

Next, for when InDesign hits its limits\u2014like when we need to make interactive books that have branching storylines, not just \u201ctap here for a sound.\u201d A branching story is when a reader\u2019s choice changes the whole plot, right? Like, do you let the cat out the window, or feed it a snack? That\u2019s where Twine comes in. Wait, Twine? The text-based tool people use for indie games? Yeah, that\u2019s us, when we need a story with more depth than 10 pages. Twine is totally free, open-source, and made by people who just love interactive storytelling, no corporate red tape. The whole thing is based on \u201cpassages\u201d\u2014you write a section of the story, then link it to other passages with a simple line of text, like [[Feed the Cat]] or [[Let the Cat Out]]. It\u2019s super easy to learn\u2014my part-time graphic designer picked up the basics in a single weekend. The catch? Twine is text-heavy, so if you want to add illustrations, audio, or fancy animations, you have to tweak the code a little. We usually pair Twine with a tool called SugarCube, which is a \u201cstory format\u201d that makes adding images and audio way simpler without coding from scratch. Last year we made a little dog-themed interactive book for animal shelters using Twine, where readers could choose different ways to care for a puppy, and it\u2019s been our top-seller for a year straight. No subscription, no hidden fees\u2014just pure, creative control.<\/p>\n

Now, if you\u2019re going full-on mobile app-style interactive books\u2014think ones that have mini games, video clips, AR (augmented reality) stuff\u2014you\u2019re gonna need something more powerful. For that, we use Unity. Wait, Unity is for video games, right? Exactly. That\u2019s why it\u2019s perfect for the more complex projects. A while back we did an interactive book about space for a museum program, where kids could \u201cland\u201d a rocket ship, drag constellations into place, and watch a short video about the moon. There\u2019s no way we could pull that off with InDesign or Twine without it feeling clunky. Unity lets you build actual 2D and 3D environments, add physics (so when you tap a rocket, it moves realistically), and integrate with phone features like the camera for AR\u2014you can point your phone at a poster and the interactive book\u2019s alien pops out, that kind of thing. The downside? Unity is a whole beast. It\u2019s built for game developers, so if you don\u2019t know basic C# coding, you\u2019re gonna need a dev on your team. We have a part-time developer who handles all our Unity projects, and it\u2019s worth every penny. It also exports straight to iOS and Android apps, so the book feels like a native experience, not just a website that works on phones. The only thing to watch out for is Unity\u2019s pricing\u2014if you make under a certain amount per year, it\u2019s free, but once you hit that threshold, you have to pay a license fee. For a small supplier like us, that works out because we only use Unity for a couple big projects a year.<\/p>\n

Wait, I can\u2019t skip over the tools for beginners or teams that don\u2019t have a big budget. A lot of self-publishers or small schools we work with use Canva\u2019s interactive toolset. Yeah, Canva\u2014the one you use for Instagram posts. You can make whole interactive books right in Canva now, adding clickable buttons, audio, even simple animations. It\u2019s so easy\u2014drag and drop pages, add your text and images, click \u201cinteract\u201d and pick what happens when someone taps: play audio, go to another page, even open a link. Last month a local elementary school bought a bunch of our bulk interactive books and used Canva\u2019s tools to make their own supplementary ones about the solar system. The only catch? Canva\u2019s interactive books don\u2019t work as well on all devices, and they don\u2019t support the deep branching storylines or complex elements that Unity does. But for simple, 10-page books with sound effects and basic navigation? It\u2019s unbeatable for the price (many parts are free, paid plans are super cheap).<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s talk about what we actually use day to day, as a supplier, not just hobbyists. We don\u2019t pick one tool and stick with it\u2014we mix and match, because each project is different. For our regular line of picture books (ages 2-7), mostly InDesign. It\u2019s fast, the export is reliable, and the designers we work with already know it, so we don\u2019t have to spend extra time training. For our middle-grade branching story books (ages 8-12), Twine with SugarCube. It keeps the story focus where it belongs, and we can add fun illustrations without overcomplicating the tech. For our special projects\u2014like the museum space book, or an upcoming one about rainforests with AR\u2014Unity, obviously. We also use some smaller tools for extra stuff, like Audacity to edit our audio clips (no one wants a background noise in a kids\u2019 book, yikes), and Figma to map out all the interactive button placements before we even start building, so we don\u2019t have to go back and redo pages later.<\/p>\n

Wait, a lot of people ask if there\u2019s a \u201cone size fits all\u201d tool, and the answer is no, not really. I\u2019ve seen people waste months trying to make a complex branching story in InDesign, and it turns out clunky, and I\u2019ve seen people use Unity to make a simple 10-page sound book, which is like using a sledgehammer to open a soda. It\u2019s all about matching the tool to what you need. And that\u2019s the biggest secret of interactive books that no one tells you: it\u2019s not the software that makes it good, it\u2019s the story. If you have a boring, predictable plot, even the fanciest Unity AR book will flop. The tools are just the way to make the story feel fun and personal, not a replacement for good writing.<\/p>\n

As someone who\u2019s been selling interactive books for a few years now, I can say the market is blowing up. More and more schools are using interactive books for remote learning, more parents are buying them for road trips to keep kids engaged, and even adults are getting into the branching story ones. But that means the tools are getting better too\u2014InDesign added more interactive features last year, Twine has easier exporting, even Canva is upping its game. We\u2019re already testing a new tool called Publishizer, which is built specifically for interactive books, no need for extra plugins or code, and it works on every device. Early tests are good, but we\u2019re still sticking to our mix of tools for now.<\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re here because you\u2019re looking to buy interactive books in bulk, or you have a project you want to partner on, hit us up. We can talk about what tools we use to make our books, why that matters for quality, and even help point you in the right direction if you want to make your own. Whether you\u2019re a school needing custom learning books, a brand wanting a branded story, or just someone who loves interactive books as much as we do, we\u2019re here to chat. No pushy sales stuff, just a group of people who care about making stories that feel special.<\/p>\n

Educational Puzzles<\/a> References
\nAdobe InDesign Interactive Features Overview. Adobe Inc.
\nTwine Official Documentation. The Twine Project.
\nUnity for 2D Interactive Books. Unity Technologies.
\nCanva Interactive Books Guide. Canva Pty Ltd.
\nSugarCube Story Format Documentation. The SugarCube Project.<\/p>\n

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NINGBO LOTO PACKAGE MANUFACTORY CO.,LTD<\/a>
Ningbo Sentu Art and Crafts Co., Ltd. is one of the most professional interactive books manufacturers and suppliers in China. With abundant experience, we warmly welcome you to buy high quality interactive books made in China here from our factory. If you have any enquiry about cooperation, please feel free to email us.
Address: 3rd Floor, Momi Community, New Jinfeng, No. 68, Chunchao Road, Yinzhou District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
E-mail: sales@nbprinting.com
WebSite: https:\/\/www.lotopuzzle.net\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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