Please change the settings so we have options to remove the starting chime. Make it more friendly to children with autism/ADHD/sensory challenges. Mine mainly gets scared of the ready to read chime. When we try to turn down the volume it glitches 2/3 the time and pushes us out of the book we’re trying to read.

My daughter has been begging for this app for months. Unfortunately, the in app ebook selection is extremely limited (even with the paid version.) Any book worth reading gives you a link to buy the book separately. Additionally, there is no easy way to search by reading level. I was really hoping this would inspire her younger sister to read, but the app really isn’t designed to teach reading. It’s impossibly hard to find easy books. There is no assistance if the child reads something incorrectly. You have to read loudly and clearly to get the sound effects to work. The idea is adorable, but the execution leaves a LOT to be desired.

So my title sums it up. This app is a novelty- big on gimmick, short on usefulness. I did have a chance to dig into some of the learning PDF’s and they are fun, coloring pages and fine motor activities, but they aren’t any better than things that can be found on Teachers Pay Teachers. The biggest reason I don’t think this app is worth the steep annual fee are the soundscapes themselves. They are distracting and take away from kids hearing fluency and prosody modeled for them. I have a book worm toddler who has been read to since newborn days. She was more distracted than anything and wasn’t “wowed” by the sounds and kept trying to look at the phone which we normally wouldn’t have present and out during our reading time. The technology is super - following your voice so sound effect timing is nearly flawless, even allowing for questions and feedback from the child and the sound effects stop and pick back up when reading resumes. That part is neat, and I could see kids who were raised on screens more than books liking the sound effects since simple reading could feel “boring” to kids in that category. But if you have a strong foundation of reading time in your house, I think this is a skip because it’s an unnecessary extra layer.

My kids are grown and I read books to my granddaughter with this app. They over heard me reading and sat around to hear the sound effects with their niece. Novel Effect brings a whole new joy to reading and draws new readers into the stories. The ability to pause and discuss the page just read is great for allowing the child to put their input into the story and to participate. We’ve even stopped to talk about the sounds and how they go with what was just read. My granddaughter likes to imitate the sounds heard when read a story again and again. I’ve even been to my local library with the app to get books that can be read with the app. Giving a child the physical book that I can add sounds to makes me the best magical Meemaw around! Thank you! I found out about this app one Sunday morning on a news show. So glad I didn’t sleep in! Please keep the amount of books coming and I can’t wait to try the new update.

*** Update 07/05: While the app had improved over the past few months, the latest update is complete crap! They now force you to pay for a premium membership even though I want to remain on the free tier. As a result, I can no longer even use the 5 reads per month. The developers are extremely greedy and do not care at all for parents. Either fix this and stop forcing us to pay, or you will lose users! *** Update 02/08: The latest app update has now resulted in paid plans. This app while amazing, still has lots of bugs. I cannot imagine paying for something that does not work flawlessly. So I really love the concept. The first few books I tried worked great. But after the most recent update, the sound effects for several books are no longer play. For example, there was no pool splash at the end of Click Clack Moo. The team really needs to stress test the app to ensure that multiple reading of a book works consistently each time. I even tried removing and reinstalling the app, but still the same issue 😩. Please investigate and issue a fix asap! My kid loves the sound effects and I love reading to him! ***Update (12/1): After the recent update, the books started to work again. However, they again stopped working after 2-3 uses. Not sure why as nothing changed on my phone. DEVELOPERS - I'm not sure how else to ask you, but please stress test your app!!! ***Update (12/15): The app has pretty much stopped working over time. While the music and sound effects start, they promptly stop after a few minutes. Pretty sad and terrible performance!!! Do not bother with this app because you will forever be frustrated! I have 5 different books and NONE of them work consistently! I am using an iPhone 6 with iOS 10.3.3. I have tried with just the iPhone and with a Jambox external speaker via Bluetooth. Just total crap now. Not sure how else to say it. So disappointed. I would give 0 stars if I could.

I hold up a book. The kids say we read that…or I have that at home… and I just smile and connect the Bluetooth speaker…annnnd cue sound effects and I know I have them!!! I can see them sitting up, some standing up to actively listen to all the sounds and words and pictures this book has. They never knew…heck!!!I never knew reading could be like this! It is the best app I have ever used for reading. It’s still me with all my silly voices and timing, but leveled up with your own orchestra pit and foley artist. I encourage you to read one book and watch your mesmerized audience. That’s what they become. Mesmerized lovers of books. Forever they will be changed for the better! Bravo!!!

Most important tip!!Something that took me a while to realize is that most books are free online. The app can run in the back, so you don’t need to download the book in the app. There is a limited selections on f books that can be access through the app because of copy rights, but save your money and just google it with the words pdf, then click on print and the app will start running in the app. You can check if is working because the audio effect will be in sync with what you are reading. If they are not, check the app is running or start reading from the last sentence until the audio and the text sync again.

My students love when I use this app during our read alouds! They always ask if the books we read are “page activated” because they are obsessed with the soundscapes. There are some great titles and I have even discovered more great books due the app. The app is always adding titles but I wish there were more available sometimes (but that just means it’s a treat when there are sound effects to the stories I read to my class!) I would suggest pairing a Bluetooth speaker with it if you are using it in a classroom. Overall, it’s a great app for teachers to keep kids engaged and for parents who may be looking for a little extra something for stories.

I really don’t have the words for how phenomenal this app is. I am a huge fan of the read along vinyl/storybook sets of the seventies and eighties—I had a massive collection and spent hours listening to them as a kid. This is the only modern experience I’ve found that lets me replicate the feeling for my child. They’ve included so many truly GOOD kids’ books, and clearly have put a lot of passion and talent into creating these background effects. I already own a dozen of the books featured and now I will be collecting most of the rest. I will support this app with all my heart, I hope it continues to grow and becomes HUGELY successful. Thank you thank you to the brilliant minds making this possible!!!

We received the subscription with a book club membership, and really enjoy the app and the books they send. Makes the books come to life and has gotten my child interested in more books instead of just asking for the same book every night! Liked the free version as well so we could give it a try before committing to the subscription. Asked for it for a holiday gift from grandma. Nice mix of classics and new books, many of which we already have. Liked that I could favorite the books so we have a list of the options to choose from.