Two fathers are raising money to publish their own children’s book with illustrations that come to life.

Douglas Carter, 44, of Green Lanes, Finsbury Park and his friend Neil Ferguson, 30, are asking parents to contribute £12 to their project and in return they will receive a copy of The Monster King.

The book, which tells the story of a purple monarch with an attitude problem, allows readers to hover the camera on their smartphones over the illustrations, which turn into animations on the screen.

The technology works through an app called Aurasma Lite which uses image recognition technology.

Smartphones

Readers can download the app onto their smartphones or tablets and then search and follow The Monster Club.

Mr Carter, who has two daughters aged five and two, said he wanted to create a children’s book which incorporated a touch-screen device after he saw how much his own children loved playing with his tablet.

“We both have children and I love telling them stories, especially the ones I make up off the top of my head,” said Mr Carter, who works as a copywriter.

“My daughters also love playing with my iPad so it made sense to combine the two.”

The concept for the story is derived from a rhyming couplet – “the king who lost his ring” – which Mr Ferguson, a designer, came up with.

He wanted to create a book for his one-year-old son and asked Mr Carter to write the story while he worked on the animations.

This will be the second time the pair have written a children’s book.

Last year they published The Tubby Grubby Monster, which also included interactive animations and sold 200 copies.

This time they are hoping to raise £2,500 by May 3 to pay for printing and distribution costs. So far, the book has been backed by 26 people and raised £615.

A Kickstarter fundraising page has been set up online where people can donate and also view a demonstration video on how the book will work.

n Visit themonsterclub.co.uk for more information.