Content standards and appeals

These are the rules every TaleTykes book follows, and the rules for the writing area where children build their own writing. Code enforces them first, and people second. They apply to every book, whether it was made for one child or is in the shared library.

This page is part of our Terms of service. Our How TaleTykes uses AI page explains how books are made. Our Acceptable use policy covers what grown-ups may ask for.

What every book must be

• Readable by the child it was made for. For early readers, every word uses sounds and heart words the child has been taught. Sentences and words fit the child's band.
• Kind. Characters solve problems, help each other, and get things wrong without being mocked. No character is made fun of for who they are.
• True where it says it is. Nonfiction is checked against reference sources and says when something is uncertain or not known.
• Original. No real brands, franchises, celebrities or copyrighted characters, and nothing copied from another work. Our Copyright and DMCA policy explains how to report a book that comes too close.
• Free of personal information. No real names beyond the child's own first name (and only if a parent turned that on), no addresses, schools, phone numbers, web addresses or email addresses.
• Free of advertising. No products, prices, or calls to buy anything.

What books never contain

In every band, books never contain:

• violence beyond what the band allows (see the tables below);
• romance or sexual content of any kind;
• weapons, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, vaping or gambling;
• horror meant to frighten, gore, or scenes of abuse;
• self-harm, suicide or eating-disorder content;
• religion or politics presented as a message;
• judgments about food, bodies, weight or appearance;
• stereotypes about any group, or jokes at a group's expense;
• real people, except well-known historical figures in nonfiction, described factually;
• dangerous activities shown as something to copy;
• advertising, products or prices.

Rules for each band

Each band has its own limits. A book for a child follows the rules for that child's band. Where a rule differs from these tables because of a grown-up's topic blocks, the stricter rule wins.

Sprout (Pre-K to K)

Sapling (grades 1–2)

Grove (grades 3–5)

Summit (grades 6–8)

Topic blocks

Parents and teachers can block topics for each child, such as dogs, hospitals, storms or a holiday. Books for that child avoid blocked topics. Topic blocks add to these rules. They never loosen them.

Picture rules

Pictures are drawn by an AI model from a description our system writes. In every band:

• the picture description is checked against these rules before the picture is drawn, and the picture is checked again after;
• pictures show no real people, no real brands or logos, and no characters that look like known characters;
• pictures show no readable text other than what the book needs, such as a sign that says "Bakery";
• pictures show no nudity, injuries, blood, weapons aimed at people, or frightening imagery;
• pictures show a wide range of people, families, homes and places;
• pictures of children never look like a particular real child, and we never use a photo of a child to make a picture;
• every book made with AI is marked so grown-ups can see it.

Nonfiction accuracy

Nonfiction books must be true. Our rules for nonfiction:

• facts are checked against reference sources before a book is shown to a child;
• where something isn't known, or experts disagree, the book says so;
• numbers, dates and names are checked;
• books don't give medical, safety, legal or financial advice, and don't tell children to do anything risky;
• history is told factually and without graphic detail, with the band's limits on violence;
• science follows the current consensus of the field.

If you find a mistake in a nonfiction book, report it. We correct it, and we check other books that may share the mistake.

Representation and inclusion

Children should see many kinds of people, families and places in their books, and see them treated with respect.

• Characters come from many backgrounds, live in many kinds of homes and places, and have many kinds of families.
• Characters with disabilities appear as full characters, not as lessons or problems to fix.
• Names, foods, holidays and customs from many cultures appear, and are described accurately and respectfully.
• No group is shown through a stereotype or as the punchline of a joke.
• Books for a child don't assume the child's gender, family, religion or background. Where a child's own first name appears, it is the only personal detail.

We review samples of books for representation as well as safety, and we change our rules when we find patterns we don't want.

How books are reviewed

1. Automated checks. Code checks every book for personal information, decodability, readability, structure, and the rules on this page before a child can see it. A book that fails is never shown to a child.
2. Human review of close calls. Books that come close to a limit go to a person on our review team, who reads the book and its pictures alongside the check results before it reaches a child.
3. Sampling. People read a sample of books that passed, to find problems the checks missed.
4. Reports. Every book a grown-up reports is read by a person.
5. Fixing the cause. When we find a problem, we fix the book and, where we can, the rule or check that let it through.

We plan to let parents approve each new book before their child sees it.

The writing area

What children can write

In the writing area, children build writing from tiles, prompts and pictures. They don't type free text, chat with anyone, or send writing to other children. A child's writing is shown only to the child, the grown-ups in their family, and, where a parent or the school has arranged it, their teacher.

Safeguarding

Sometimes a child's writing may suggest the child is unsafe, is being hurt, or may hurt themselves or someone else. When writing is flagged for a possible safety concern:

• the writing is held and a person on our safety team reviews it. AI never decides on its own whether a child is safe;
• the reviewer looks at the writing in context and decides whether there is a real concern;
• where there is a concern, we contact the child's parent or guardian, or, for a school space, the school's designated contact, so a grown-up who knows the child can follow up;
• where the law requires it, or where we believe a child is in immediate danger, we report to child protective services or law enforcement, in the way a mandated reporter would;
• we record what we did and why, in a record that only authorized staff can see.

We never punish a child for what they write, and we don't show flagged writing to anyone who doesn't need to see it to keep the child safe.

If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency number first.

Reporting a book or a concern

• Report this book. On any book's page, choose Report this book and pick what's wrong. A person on our safety team looks at every report.
• Email. Write to safety@taletykes.com with the book's title. Don't include your child's full name or other personal details. We can find the book from your account.
• Teachers. Write to safety@taletykes.com with the book's title and the class.

What happens after you report

• We reply within one business day to tell you we have the report.
• We sort reports by how serious they are. Our review targets run from 1 hour for the most urgent safety concerns to 72 hours for the least urgent, such as a word that is too hard.
• If a report suggests a book could harm a child, we may take the book off shelves while we review it.
• When we decide, we tell you what we found and what we did, such as removing the book, correcting it, fixing a check, or keeping it because it meets these standards.
• If other families have the same book, we fix or remove it for them too.

Appeals

If we removed a book you think was fine, kept one you think was not, or made a decision about your child's writing that you disagree with, you can appeal.

• Reply to our email, or write to safety@taletykes.com with "Appeal" in the subject line, within 30 days of our decision.
• A different reviewer from the one who made the first decision looks at it within 5 business days.
• We tell you the result and the reason.

Appeals about account restrictions follow our Acceptable use policy.

Transparency

We plan to publish a regular report on the books and writing we review: how many reports we receive, what kinds, how quickly we act, and what we change as a result. It will contain no information about any child.

Changes to these standards

We publish changes to these standards on this page with the date. Changes that make books stricter apply at once. Changes that loosen a rule are reviewed by our safety team and, where we have them, outside advisors, before they apply, and we tell schools as our School terms require.

Contact

Book reports, appeals and safeguarding: safety@taletykes.com. Privacy questions: privacy@taletykes.com.