The Best Apps to Support Your Child’s Literary Development

Phone Apps
Avator By Zane Zvirbule
Digital Marketing Executive
5th March 2020
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World Book Day has been annually celebrated on the first Thursday of March since 1995. The charitable event strives to give every child a chance to read by distributing book vouchers to everyone in full-time education. The vouchers can be spent in any UK bookshop or even at pop-up book stalls that visit schools.

The initiative is undoubtedly incredible. For many of us our love of literature, or lack thereof, stems from childhood experience. We can all remember the authors that captured our attention in a way that others struggled to. Thus, it’s vital that children have the opportunity to establish a positive relationship to literacy early-on and, luckily enough, we have seen huge advancement in this area over recent years.

A pivotal, and on occasion overlooked, way of supporting your child’s literary development is through the use of apps. Understandably, parents often become concerned when the mention of technology arises in relation to their child and this isn’t entirely unfounded. However, it is evident that a number of applications have can have a positive effect on a child’s development.

It can be difficult to know where to start with the millions of applications available to us. That’s exactly why we wanted to direct you towards the top 6 applications to support your child’s literary development and creative habits!

1. Teach Your Monster To Read
This application is funded by the Usborne Foundation, a charity that supports literary development in young ages. Of course, the name might ring familiar as the Usborne’s are also founders of Usborne Publishing - a global children’s publishing house.

The app itself offers a number of notable features but in a basic overview, it guides your child through basic sounds into full sentences. All of the activities pose as games to keep your little one entertained throughout the entire process.
2. Bob Books
The Bob Books reading series is a cult classic for many - having helped children get to grips with the basic principles of reading since the 1970s. However, you may not be aware that the brand has an application that further supports children’s learning.
The app has a number of great features such as corresponding animations that evolve alongside the story itself, simple activities to enhance the reading experience as well as providing prompts to get your child sounding out their words.
This app is an excellent first step for any youngsters who are just starting out on their reading journey as it really does strip it back to basics but maintains an element of fun to keep them entertained.
3. This Is My Story (And I’m Sticking To It)
Whilst other apps strictly target your child’s reading skills with pre-written content, this application allows a further level of involvement. Throughout the application, your child will help build the story they read - allowing them to claim personal authority throughout their reading journey.
Of course, the application pairs this mix and match format with animations that engage and delight your youngsters.
4. Reading Eggs
The Reading Eggs programme is available for iOS and Android devices meaning that your child can always be learning on the go!

The platform guides your child at their own pace, offering the perfect blend of interactivity and standard teaching methods. Additionally, this app does not cater to literacy alone, so if you’re also looking for support in other core subjects then this could be the app to choose.
5. Epic!
Epic! differs from the previous apps. Rather than offering teaching games and interactive resources, the app presents your child with over 35,000 high-quality books. This platform allows your child to read content that matches their individual interests and style within a child-friendly environment.

The application format also means that your child can bring a multitude of their favourite titles with them on one small device, so you won’t be carting around an entire library.
6. FarFaria Stories To Read Along
FarFaria can be deceptively simple, but has become majorly popular with many parents! The application presents classic children’s stories – such as Princess and the Pea, The Wizard of Oz, and Cinderella – in an easily-accessible format.
The platform highlights certain sections to ensure that children can follow along and pick out the key messaging within each text passage. This allows your child to practice reading as if it were a standard physical book, but additionally offers that extra level of support and prompting that they may need.

Each of these apps brilliantly caters to a child’s individual needs, so there is no right one to pick. However, it’s important to note that your child will only have access to these fantastic resources should the device they are on remain functional. We’re all aware that our children have the inconvenient habit of spilling, dropping and breaking things – so make sure your device is covered with a comprehensive insurance plan.

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