Using Me Books app for Reading Support

Me Books is a free app available in the App Store for iPad users.

This app is useful for children who are looking for alternative options to reading a hard-copy book. There are many reasons why this might be, for example:

  • Reading is tricky and the child’s interest level may not match their reading level
  • Some people learn best by listening instead of reading with sight, and read-aloud stories can be a great way to explore if this way of learning is a good option  
  • It is easier for some people to listen and read at the same time because they can use a combination of auditory and visual input to make sense of the story
  • Interactive, animated books which also include text read-aloud can be a good introduction to text-to-speech or audio-only books for younger children.

There are several books available for free at different reading stages/interest levels, with the option to purchase others.

Me Books also has the option to record your own version of the story, or part of the story. This is not only a fun tool to add to the shared reading experience, but a great way to build-in reading comprehension work and narrative skills!

Here is an example of how to record your own story using a free book called ‘Floppy Floppy’…

Open up the book you would like to read. Swipe left to turn the pages.

Cartoon of a boy with his mother signing stop to his dog.  There is a stripy triangle on the top right hand side of the screen to enter edit mode.

Click the stripy triangle on the top right hand side of the screen to enter edit mode.

The areas in purple are ones which you can record over.

Cartoon of a boy with his mother signing stop to his dog. Each object in the picture such as the boy, mother and dog is circled within a purple outline.  On each corner there are controls to cancel accept and question mark sign.

For example, the text reads ‘’No, Floppy!’ I could choose to say ‘Sit down, Floppy’ instead by holding down the purple bubble until it goes red, then saying my new sentence out loud.

I could also record messages for the boy, the girl and Floppy the dog to say – endless possibilities for imaginative stories!

When you have completed your recordings, press X at the top left to close edit mode.

Click the text and characters on screen to hear your version of the story.

You can reset the story to the original by going back to edit mode, clicking the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen and then ‘reset’.

Cartoon of a boy with his mother signing stop to his dog. Each object in the picture such as the boy, mother and dog is circled within a purple outline.  On each corner there are controls to cancel accept and question mark sign.

I think it would be even better if the words were highlighted as they are read aloud, but this is not a feature at the moment. It is difficult to find read aloud stories that have this feature!

For more information and ideas about Me Books, see https://www.mebooks.co/

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