by: Lindsay Hutton
Ladybug's Bookshelf
This app comes with four original stories, and is perfect for new readers just beginning to build their own personal library. With the "read to me" option, your child can listen to a narrated story, and with the "read it myself" option, she can read each book independently at her own pace. Colorful pictures, animation, and music make each story interactive — touch the moving characters and objects in each story to uncover hidden surprises!
Ages: 2-6
Price: $2.99
MeeGenius
This app gives you access to over 800 award-winning children's books in its library, and comes complete with read-along narration. There is a new, free e-book offered every day, complete with beautiful illustrations, with the option of reading on or offline. The first 30 days are free, so there is no monthly commitment until you are positive you love it.
Ages: 0-8
Price: $4.99/month
Get it on Google Play
FarFaria
With over 900 popular children's books already in the library, five new books added every week, and an offline option, your child can keep reading everywhere he goes with this app. Each book has a Common Core-aligned reading-level badge on the cover to help determine its level of difficulty, and the "read to me" option with word highlighting is perfect for new readers.
Ages: 1-9
Price: $4.99/month
PlayTales!
With over 200 titles to choose from, including classics like Sleeping Beauty and The Ugly Duckling, access to a personal library, and seven language options, your child will have endless ways to build his reading repertoire with PlayTales! Amazing animation, quirky sound effects, and original music offer a fun and interactive reading experience to kids of all ages. Download and store your books on the built-in bookshelf for access both on- and offline.
Ages: 2-12
Price: Free
Get it on Google Play
Sesame Street S'More!
It's Sesame Street's first interactive magazine! Each bi-monthly issue (six issues a year) is loaded with educational content, reading activities, narrated stories, and lessons from all of your child's favorite characters, including Elmo, Grover, and Cookie Monster.
Ages: 3-6
Price: $3.99/issue or $2.99/bi-monthly subscription
Reading Rainbow
Reading Rainbow has been re-imagined! Hosted by childhood-favorite LeVar Burton, this app comes with a digital library of more than 400 fiction and non-fiction books, and more than 100 educational video field trips with the host. New books and videos are added every week, and recommendations are offered based on your child's age and interests.
Ages: 3-9
Price: $9.99/month
Tales2Go
This Parents' Choice Gold Award-winner streams thousands of audio books directly to your child's phone or tablet, so she can listen to her favorite books on the go. Listening is an essential literacy skill and helps build language fluency and vocabulary. This app is free for the first 30 days, and then parents have the option of purchasing a monthly or annual subscription for unlimited access to the Tales2Go library.
Ages: 3-12
Price: $9.99/month
Get it on Google Play
Starfall I'm Reading
This app contains all of your child's favorite stories from the popular Starfall website, including the plays, fiction/nonfiction stories, comics, folk tales, Greek myths, and Chinese fables. The stories in this app use words most frequently encountered in print (known as "sight words"), to help your child build his vocabulary, and the AutoRead feature reads aloud as your child follows along, and can be turned off as your child becomes more advanced.
Ages: 5+
Price: $1.99
Britannica Kids
With more than a dozen apps to choose from, each one with a specific focus, including topics like the solar system, ancient Egypt, dinosaurs, and snakes, Britannica Kids is a great way to get your child involved in non-fiction reading. Each app contains informative, easy-to-read articles, videos, and interactive games to help increase your chil's knowledge on each topic, and to make reading a fun learning experience.
Ages: 5-11
Price: $4.99
Get it on Google Play
National Geographic Kids
Recognized as a 2014 Parents' Choice Recommended Mobile App, National Geographic Kids magazine app is packed with educational content, and is the perfect online magazine for ages 6 and up. It includes cool features like animal stories, weird-but-true facts, articles on history, technology, and science, and tons more to keep your child reading and engaged.
Ages: 6+
Price: $1.99/month
Get it on Google Play
