A book is disclosed with light sources embedded in the pages, thereby providing substantially uniform illumination that eliminates any need for external lighting. Visual interest is increased by providing switchability between a plurality of illumination modes, such as Flicker, Flash, On, and Off, each mode causing all of the light sources in at least one page to behave in a substantially identical manner. The light sources can be LED lights embedded in a regular array within translucent sheets that improve the illumination uniformity. An illumination control, on/off switch, and/or power source such as exchangeable or rechargeable batteries can be included in the spine of the book, or in a separate housing in wired communication with the book. Illumination modes can be switched by moving a magnetic and/or conductive portion of a wand near sensors in the pages. Indicia can be printed directly on the translucent sheets, and/or on overlay sheets.