We write and illustrate every book from scratch, following what your child chose and the rules for their age group. Nothing comes from a collection of stories written in advance. Every book goes through the same steps in order, and a book that does not pass a step does not reach your child.
The steps, in order
- Planning. We plan what happens: who is in the story, where it takes place and how it turns out. If your child wrote their own beginning, the plan grows out of their sentences.
- Writing. We write the pages at the level set for your child's age group. For readers aged 5 to 7 whose stories are in English, the words are written from the letter sounds they have been taught, apart from a few words learned by sight and the characters' names. A draft with too many words they could not sound out is rewritten, and one that still has too many after its rewrites is stopped.
- Reading it back. We read the draft back against what a good book for that age needs, such as the child in the story solving the problem rather than a grown-up, and rewrite the parts that fall short. A book that still falls short after its rewrite is stopped.
- Easier and richer versions. We write the same pages again one step easier, and for picture books one step richer as well, so the book can suit your child on the day. A version that does not come out right is left out, and the book keeps the words it was written with.
- Safety checks. We check the words of every version together, so an easier page is checked as carefully as the page it came from. How stories and pictures are checked explains the checks.
- Drawing the characters. We draw the characters once, on a plain background. Every picture after that is drawn from that one sheet, which keeps the characters looking the same from page to page. When the hero is a drawing your child made, the sheet is drawn from their drawing.
- Drawing the pictures. Each picture is compared with the character sheet and checked for safety before it is kept. A picture in which the characters have drifted is drawn again.
- Putting it together. We put the pages in order, measure the reading level of the finished book, and write the questions for the end of it.
- The read-along recording. For readers in the two younger age groups, 2 to 5 and 5 to 7, we record every page and note the moment each word is said, so the highlighted word follows the voice. Older readers' books are read by the device's own voice, unless you ask for a chapter book to be recorded; see Having a chapter book read aloud.
Then the book goes on your child's shelf, and we email you to say it is ready. How long a book takes covers the wait.
Why the reading level comes before the pictures
Two things make a text harder to read: longer sentences and less familiar words. We measure both in every draft before a single picture is drawn, so a draft that misses its level is rewritten while only the words have to change. Each picture is drawn from the words of its own page, so the pictures wait until the words are settled. How the reading works shows the ranges each age group is held to.
Why a book never changes while your child reads it
Each picture belongs to the words on its page, so we never rewrite a book while your child is reading it. If we changed page seven halfway through, its picture could show something that no longer happens. The only changes to a finished book are the ones you make yourself, described in Looking over a finished book.
That is why the easier and richer versions are written at the start, tied to the same pictures. If a reader's "Words on the page" setting is "Let TaleTykes choose", the version they see can change from one reading to the next, but never while a book is open. You can change that setting under Readers, then your child, then Settings, then "Reading"; Reading level and phonics explains the choices.
When a person reads a book
Our checks run on every book, and most books are never read by one of us. A person reads a book in these cases.
- A check is unsure. When something in a book comes close to the line, the book waits as "Being checked" until one of us has read it. When a book cannot be made explains what that means for you.
- You tell us something is wrong. A person reads every book that is reported to us. See Telling us about a problem with a book.
Sharing books with other children is not open to most families yet; it works only for a reader whose sharing you switched on yourself. Whenever a book is shared, a person reads it before any other child can see it.
If you have a question about a particular book, ask us through Help in your dashboard.