Choosing an app that writes a storybook
If you are choosing an app that writes a story for your child, these are the questions we would ask of any of them, with our own answers.
Five questions to ask
We do not name or rate other apps here. They change often, and we have not checked them. Ask each one these questions and compare the answers.
1. Does a person read the story before anyone else sees it?
Every book passes automatic checks before it is illustrated. A person reads every book before it can be seen by anybody outside your family, and every shared book has a report button that goes to a person.
2. Is it written at a reading level, and is that checked?
Each book is written for one of four age bands and, for early readers, to the phonics phase your child is on. We measure sentence length and word familiarity in the draft and rewrite a draft that misses its level before any picture is drawn.
3. What does it ask for about your child?
A first name or whatever you call them, and an age band. We never ask for a photograph to make a character look like your child, and your child can still choose to be the one the story happens to.
4. Does it read along with them?
Yes. Each word is lit and underlined as it is spoken, and tapping a word says it, shows its sounds and gives a short meaning.
5. What does it show your child besides the story?
Nothing to buy, no adverts and no notifications. There is a count of the days read in a row, and nothing about it can be lost.
About photographs
If an app asks for a photograph of your child to draw them into the story, it helps to know that under the US children’s privacy rule a photograph of a child is personal information about them. It is worth asking where the photograph goes, who else processes it, and how long it is kept. We decided not to ask for one. There is more about what we hold on our promise about children.
What TaleTykes costs
Every new family gets 3 days free with 2 books included. If you cancel before it ends, we charge nothing.
Sprout
$12.99 a month
For one or two young readers.
Grove
$24.99 a month
For a houseful.
Where these facts come from
- The US children's privacy rule counts a photograph, video or audio file containing a child's image or voice as personal information about that child (16 CFR 312.2). law.cornell.edu, read on 25 September 2026.
Also worth reading
Last checked on 25 September 2026.
Product and company names on this page belong to their owners and are used to say which product is meant. TaleTykes is not affiliated with any of them, none of them has endorsed TaleTykes, and this page is not an endorsement of any product. Prices and offers change: any quoted here are as of the month shown, and the company’s own site has the current ones. If anything here has gone out of date, tell us at support@taletykes.com and we will correct it.
See the answers for yourself
You get 3 days free with 2 books included, and we charge nothing if you cancel before the trial ends.