New Ground-Breaking Shared Reading Program for Kids 2 to 5

Disclosure:  I received compensation in exchange for sharing my honest opinion and this information.

I am someone who has always loved reading and getting lost in a book and I had hoped that is something my kids would have developed.  My oldest who is in 1st grade says he hates reading and he has been struggling with it.  I have been working with him of course, but I also worry about my two other children who are seeing their brother’s dislike of reading and how he is struggling.  I am trying to be more proactive with them in encouraging reading and growing a love of books but it can be hard with all the tech gadgets we own.  Luckily our tablets can do more than just offer games now, they can also be great educational tools!

Now we have tried many eBooks for our kids and nothing has quite grabbed their attention like iRead With Interactive eBooks.  What makes iRead With Interactive eBooks so different than other apps out there?  Well iRead With is exactly what it says, it is an app that kids read with someone basically.  Parents read a story and then start a conversation with their kids using suggestions from the app.  The child then jumps in the conversation which helps develop their vocabulary, literacy skills, phonological awareness, narrative skills and comprehension strategies.  The method of kids working with their parents (or another adult) using an app actually took two years of research and collaboration between Tribal Nova app company and world-renowned McGill University.  The McGill team has been conducting research with parents and children to test the effectiveness of their method of shared-reading.  I know in my household we are using tablets more and more and while I love actual books I will go with the flow if an eBook is what will spark excitement in my children.  I love the mission of Tribal Nova being “Together our goal is to create engaging early learning experiences which positively leverage the power of technology to improve learning outcomes.”  Tablets are not going anywhere and I love that companies are using them to an educational advantage.

The first two books in the iRead With series feature Caillou from PBS Kids, which is a show for preschoolers.  “Caillou: What’s That Funny Noise?” and “Caillou: Show and Tell” offer interactive features that encourage parent-child conversation and keep the child’s attention through engaging animations, “living words” and fun questions.

The app features three ways to use it:  Listen, Read & Talk and Theater.

• The Listen mode uses the narrator and kids can interact with the story’s bold words and the pictures.  This is what you’ll find in most eBook apps for kids.

• Read & Talk is a mode where parents record themselves saying words and throughout the story kids can touch the “Living Words” to play sounds and animations, ask related questions, that pop up on the bottom (helps remind and encourage parents to ask questions to engage child.)  This mode is what really makes the eBook stand out.  I love it because it not only has my voice recorded for three of the words but it reminds me to stop and talk to my child rather than rushing through a story, which I admit to doing to hurry up bedtime.

• Theater mode is another mode that makes iRead With Interactive stand out.  Kids can create their own Caillou stories by dragging images from the bottom into scenes from the story. Then you can narrate it and record it!  How cool is that?  Parents can do the whole story or kids can record their own story or they can take turns!  This would even be cute to create a story to show the child’s grandparents or even other parent who was not there!  Think of just how creative you can be over and over!  This is something that has even excited my 7 year old!

Overall, I am super excited to continue this new app from Tribal Nova.  I am not thrilled that it is Caillou (he is one of my least favorite characters) but the concept of the stories is genius.  I will say my family’s favorite is the Theater mode.  I have never seen anything like that in an app before.

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iRead With WEBSITE | iRead With FACEBOOK | iRead With TWITTER

Here is a quick YouTube clip about the app:

CHECK IT OUT:  The apps are available exclusively for iPad in English and French. As a launch special for a limited time, “Caillou: What’s That Funny Noise?” can be downloaded at no cost, while “Caillou: Show and Tell” is available at a reduced price of $0.99. Both apps are available from the App Store at: Caillou: What’s That Funny Noise? and Caillou: Show and Tell.