With little fanfare, Apple has released a new reading app for kids on the tvOS App Store called iBooks StoryTime. The new app is designed to aid kids in improving their reading skills via features such as interactive audio, “Read-Aloud,” and more.
iBooks StoryTime gives your family a different way to experience classic kids’ books and discover new favorites. With Read-Aloud narration and beautiful illustrations, every handpicked title in the app transforms Apple TV into an engaging place for young readers to enjoy the stories they love.
• Experience your favorite Read-Aloud books on a large screen.
• With Read-Aloud narration, pages flip automatically as you go.
• Turn Read-Aloud off to read the story aloud to your child.
• iBooks StoryTime works with Siri Remote, making it easy to swipe between pages.
• Buy additional Read-Aloud books on iBooks, from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
• Any Read-Aloud book purchased by you or your family will appear in your iBooks StoryTime library.
The Read-Aloud feature displays on-screen subtitles, which allows the children to read along with the narration audio. The feature helps children how to recognize and use the word correctly. When this feature is activated, the pages of the book turn automatically as the narration moves forward. Users can also turn the feature off, and use the Siri Remote to progress through the book.
9to5Mac notes the app currently doesn’t offer a large selection of books, but this can be expected to improve in the near future. Books currently available in the app include such popular titles as:
- Green Eggs and Ham
- The Little Red Hen
- Goodnight Moon
- Chicka Chicka ABC
- Big Brother Daniel
- The ABCs of Cookies
- Meet Tracker
Apple is currently offering users a free download of “Dora’s Big Buddy Race Read-Along Storybook” to get things started. The iBooks StoryTime app is available for free in the tvOS App Store. To find out more about it, click here.
