iOS App Reviews: “Reader Bee and the Story Tree” and “Reader Bee’s First Story Maker”

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

Reading is something that seems to come easy for some and for others they need some extra help.  My boys have struggled with reading since they started and now my daughter is starting to learn her letters.  Luckily there are so many apps out there now that are so helpful with reading but honestly it is overwhelming trying to find which apps are good and which are not.  I have downloaded countless apps for my kids over the years but the newest ones we have come across that we really enjoy are from Reading Bee.

Reading Bee currently has two apps that build upon each other – “Reader Bee and the Story Tree” and “Reader Bee’s First Story Maker” – that are perfect for kids learning their letters and how to read.

Reader Bee and the Story Tree

Kids get just enough letters at a time in a simple arrangement called a daisy – six consonants around one vowel – that gives them a physical experience of the vowel’s special place in words. They learn it with their ears and with their fingers as well as with their eyes – a dynamic combination that research shows creates strong neural connections. With just that one daisy they can make real words. If you add the rest of the daisies, they have the whole alphabet at their fingertips.

Reader Bee starts off with you choosing between Kindergarten and Pre-K.  From there you go into choosing a honeycomb that says the sound of the letter, the word and shows a picture.  Then it shows the letter and traces it for your child.  This app have so much in it that it really can not only engage kids but keep them interested long enough that they want to learn more! It teaches letters, sounds, sight words, writing letters, matching letters and even reads a book aloud.  Throughout the app there is a friendly bee that guides the child with what they need to do and where they need to go. If your child hesitates too long, the bee with give guidance. The book that is read aloud even has touchable words your child can tap that they learned from within the app to be repeated.

The app is illustrated in a very kid-friendly manner, but not in a cheesy manner.  It features music, guidance, and it honestly an amazing app that I would expect to be a lot more than $2.  I have downloaded many educational apps in the years we’ve owned tablets and this one really impressed me. I would recommend it for any parent looking for an app for a child learning letters, sounds and simple sight words.  I really like the bee that gives the guidance for kids, too many times apps just sit there and wait for the child to do something but the bee is a great help especially if your child is playing the app without you.  My daughter is 3 and absolutely loves her “bee app.”  I warn you, you may not get your tablet back after your child starts playing with this app!  Once your child completes the app as Pre-K, then they can move on to K, which seems to be the same but has a little more things to do like tracing letters and such.

Oh and Within the app there is a resource section for parents to help growing readers by using the app and how to get the most from it.  The section is small, just a few tabs and screenshots, but it is a great addition for parents who are looking for help and guidance.  I have struggled many times myself as parent helping my kids and feeling that when they fail, I fail.  I love that there are apps that I can find value in and see working with my kids.

Reader Bee’s First Story Maker

Now kids’ stories can come to life with magic pictures that transform into words and back again with a tap. The Honeycomb Keyboard lets young children see and write rhyming words (cat, hat, sat) and sight words (with, the, and, is) with one swipe through the letters, helping them learn to read as well as write.

Kids can browse through dozens of fanciful pictures to inspire their tale-telling and jumpstart their spelling. Once a picture of an octopus, a strawberry or a violin has been pulled into the story, tapping changes it magically into the spelled word ‘octopus’, ‘strawberry’ or ‘violin’. Even more surprising, type, “c a t” and pop – a cat will appear where that word was!

Kids and grownups also can use the Honeycomb keyboard in many other iPad apps – email, notes, messages and more.

This app is very simple at first but the possibilities are endless.  As a child I loved making my own stories up and drawing pictures and this app does that in a high tech manner.  Basically the app is deisgned for kids to type up a story.  They can use pictures and type words with the keybaord to create a story.  What is really cool though is that if they don’t know a word but see the picutre is there, they can tap the picture to show up and then double tap it to turn it into the written word!  This is not an app so much for beginners though, as it does help if they child can type some words.  My 3 year old uses this app to create stories, although they don’t really make sense, but she is seeing the words and recognizing the first letters.  My boys are 6 and 7 and love typing up silly stories for me to read.

To go even further with this app though is that you can use the Honeycomb keyboard in various apps.  So even if your child is not using the Reader Bee app, they can use the Honeycomb keyboard to help them.  The Honeycomb keyboard shows the letter and a picture to help remind your child of the sound they make.  For example, for the letter “N” there is a picture of nut and so forth.  The pictures are a great reminder, but if your child doesn’t need them they can turn them off!  I think it is an app well worth the $1 it costs!

Stay Connected with Reader Bee:

Reader Bee WEBSITE

BUY IT: You can download “Reader Bee and the Story Tree” ($1.99) and “Reader Bee’s First Story Maker” ($0.99)