Vooks: Read-Aloud Kids' Books

I love Vooks so much, it’s the only thing my toddler is allowed to watch and I am constantly impressed by how the stories help expand his vocabulary and enrich his understanding of the world. We have several stories on our favorites list that he watches repeatedly, just like we read many of the same books over and over. It’s not addicting, so while he often asks for “one more Vooks book,” it’s easy to get him to move on to another activity. It has also really helped with transitions between play time and “wind down” time. I’m just starting to explore some of the books for older kids, and I can see that it’ll be nice to have as he grows. Criticisms: -I wish the Apple TV version of the app didn’t auto-play books that aren’t on my favorites list. -I wish filtering and the search function were more refined (by age, subject, etc.). It takes some extra effort/watching on my part to find books that my toddler will be interested in and that are age appropriate. Otherwise, it’s great!!

Let me start with the good, we LOVE VOOKS! We first got it during my 3 year old son's tonsillectomy recovery last summer. It was so calming and fun to watch for him. Our two year loves the app too. We decided to do preschool at home this year. Vooks has been a good resource to pull from. The issue isn't content, but app functionality. It keeps crashing on one of our older iPads since it updated. We tried to use it on our Apple TV app instead and searching was really difficult. It was hard to find the search feature and then once we did, with every letter we typed it moved the cursor to the first book that was brought up. When I tried to go back I kept losing the search feature and having to start over. I also miss the titles being under the cover art on the main page. The book icons are smaller now and more difficult to read. I can't go to the entire preschool list like we used to be able to do from the menu. It took a really long and unusually frustrating time to pull up the book I was looking for via the search whereas before I could have just scrolled the preschool section for it. The changes made it less user friendly, although we got there in the end and my 2 year old is happily rewatching Freezing No Number Day for the third time. (Oh, can you make it easier to restart a book from the credits? Not just skipping back but a quick rewatch button?). We love the app, but it has somehow gotten less easy to use. No deal breakers, but I remember it being easier to navigate. Thank you for considering these things!

Vooks is a unique and compelling streaming storybook site that brings books to life for preschool and elementary school aged kids. The stories aren’t only read aloud, but are also animated like a 10-minute (or so) film. The stories are narrated with various fun voices and accompanying music, keeping young readers and listeners attention. And it’s easy to use! Just choose a storybook, click on play, and watch and listen. The text appears on each page and is highlighted as the narrator reads each word, encouraging the child to read along. There are numerous types and themes of books, such as be brave, be creative, biographies, and more. So, the streaming storybooks aren’t only entertaining, but informative and character-building too. There are also lesson plans and other resources for extended learning. This animated storybook concept is so fun. I wish I had Vooks when I was a child. I’m thrilled with my new subscription and look forward to reading and listening to the variety of animated stories with my grandson. Disclosure: Many thanks to Vooks for providing this product/product information for review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.