A reader is one child on your account, with their own books, their own sign-in and their own settings. You add one on Add a reader, and it takes a first name, an age group, a picture, a language for their stories and a way to sign in.
What has to be done first
Two things come before your first reader, and both are part of setting up your account:
- the card check that shows an adult set the account up
- reading the notice to parents and ticking that you are the parent or guardian of the children you add
Until both are done, the page sends you to finish them. If we change the notice later, you are asked to read the new version before you add another reader; see When we ask you to read an updated notice.
Step by step
- Open Add a reader. Straight after the card step it is called "Add your first reader". Later, you can reach it from "Add a reader" on the Readers page.
- Under "Who are they?", type their "First name". Use a first name only, or whatever you call them, up to 24 characters. Letters, apostrophes and hyphens are fine, but a space is not, because we do not store surnames. The name of a well-known story character is refused too.
- Choose "Which age group are they in?": "Ages 2 to 5", "Ages 5 to 7", "Ages 7 to 9" or "Ages 9 to 12". Nothing is chosen for you. The group decides how long a story is, the words it uses and how much happens in it.
- Under "Their picture and their stories", tap a picture under "Pick a picture for them". Your child finds this picture, with their name, on the "Who is reading today?" screen.
- Choose "What shall we write their stories in?": "English (British spelling)", "English (American spelling)" or "Español". This also sets the language of the voice that reads their stories and of what Pip says.
- Under "How they sign in", choose "A number" and type a PIN of four to six digits, or choose "Pictures" and tap at least three pictures, and at most six, in the order your child will tap them.
- Check the line that starts "To be saved:", then press "Add reader".
The PIN or pictures only work on a device you have signed in on and set up, so they do not need to be a closely guarded secret. They are there to stop a brother or sister opening the wrong books. Pictures suit a child who does not know their numbers yet.
After you press "Add reader"
Your dashboard opens on a card saying your child is ready to read, with three buttons: "Start (your child's name) reading", "Add another reader" and "Not now". The first one sets up the device you are holding and opens your child's sign-in screen. See Setting up a device for your child.
You can change everything you chose later. The sign-in is changed on the reader's Safety page, as PINs and picture passwords explains, and the age group is changed from the reader's Progress page, as Moving a reader to another age group explains.
Why we only ask for a first name
We keep as little as a story needs. The form has nowhere to put a surname, a date of birth or an email address, and your child never needs an email address to sign in. We keep an age group instead of a date of birth.
Later, in the reader's Settings, you can add the month of their birthday and the month they turn thirteen. Both are optional, and for the birthday we keep only the month, never the day or the year. What we hold lists everything we keep about a reader.
How many readers you can have
| Your plan | Readers it covers | Most with extra readers |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | 2 | 3 |
| Sprout | 2 | 3 |
| Grove | 4 | 8 |
| An account that has never had a plan | 1 | Extra readers cannot be added |
When there is no room left, the page says "Your plan covers (number) readers" and tells you what you can do, such as adding room for another reader or moving to Grove, and the "Add reader" button cannot be pressed. See Extra readers and Sprout and Grove. A reader you remove stops counting toward the limit straight away; see Removing a reader.