Books for ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 7 come with a recorded voice. Chapter books, which readers aged 7 to 12 get, are read aloud by the device's own voice instead. If you would like a chapter book read in a recorded voice, you can ask for one with "Have it read aloud". It uses 1 book from your allowance, once for that book, and the book then stays recorded.
How to ask for it
- Go to Readers and choose your child.
- Open the "Books" tab.
- Next to a finished book, press "Have it read aloud".
- A sentence appears saying that recording the book uses one book from your allowance a single time. Press "Yes, record it" to go ahead, or "Not now" to leave everything as it was.
The button only appears on finished books that do not already have a recorded voice on every page. Usually these are chapter books, but it can also appear on a picture book that ended up without a voice on some pages.
What it uses
Recording a book uses 1 book, the same as making a picture book, rather than the 2 that making a chapter book uses. That is because the story and the pictures were already paid for, and this is the voice alone. As with any book, it comes out of your monthly allowance first, and out of books you bought once the allowance is used up. Your monthly books explains the allowance.
If you have no books left, you will see "There are no books left to spend, but you can add more." Extra books explains how to add some.
How long it takes
Once you confirm, you will see "It is being read aloud now, which takes a few minutes, and the book can still be read in the meantime." The book's row then says "Being read aloud now", and stops saying it once every page has a recording. Your child can keep reading the book while this happens, with the device's voice as before.
The book is read at the pace we use for its age group.
What changes afterwards
When every page has a recording:
- the book is read in the recorded voice, with each word highlighted as it is said;
- the book gets the "Just listen" button, which plays the whole book with the screen dark;
- the book can be chosen for listening to books in a row;
- the book can be sent to a Yoto player, if you use one (see Sending a book to a Yoto player).
You are asked once per book. After that the button does not come back for that book, and you are not charged for it again.
If a page cannot be recorded, the rest of the book still gets its voice and that page is read by the device's voice. A book that is missing a voice on any page is not offered for listening in a row or for Yoto, because both need a voice on every page.
If the button is missing or does not work
- We can switch this off for a while. When it is off, the button is not shown. If it is switched off while your page is open, pressing the button shows "Reading a chapter book aloud is not available just now."
- If you press it for a book that is already being recorded, you will see "That book is already being read aloud, which takes a few minutes."
- If a book still says "Being read aloud now" long after a few minutes have passed, some of its pages may not have been recorded. Write to us from Help in your dashboard and tell us which book.
For how the voices work inside a book, see Read-along and the tools inside a book.