Novel Effect is a free, award-winning app that brings your books to life with music, sound effects, and character voices — custom-made to celebrate the tone of each story.
As you read aloud, Novel Effect follows the sound of your voice and responds at just the right moment. Skip pages, pause to talk about the illustrations, or re-read your favorite parts and the app will keep up with you wherever you are in the book. Add an interactive, screen-free dimension to hundreds of kids books you know and love. Perfect for bedtime, in the classroom and library, or wherever story time takes you!
Our growing in-app library is curated for teachers, librarians, kids and families. New titles are added regularly - including classics, bestsellers, new releases, hidden gems, and more. With over 200 titles in English and 30 in Spanish to choose from, discover your next great story time read aloud here!
HOW IT WORKS
You'll need your own copy of the book you want to read out loud. Some free in-app ebooks are available in the ebook collections.
FIND - Use the search bar or browse the home screen to find your books.
PLAY - Tap the cover and then tap play to start the soundscape.
READ - Set your device aside. When you hear the chime, start reading aloud!
Each soundscape captures the spirit and themes of each story. Foster a love of books, promote language development, and increase engagement just by reading aloud as you normally would with Novel Effect in the background. Add a little magic to storytime and bring the focus back to books and moments we spend together.
KEY FEATURES
• A library of 200+ compatible books and poems (English and Spanish), with new ones added weekly
• Search to find a specific book title, author, or subject you love
• Explore expertly curated collections of books, poetry, and speeches
• Access your recent, favorite, and downloaded books in the ‘My Library’ tab
• Connect to a Bluetooth speaker or mirror to AppleTV for a more immersive group story time
• Find ebooks that are available in Apple Books or free within the app
OUR LIBRARY
Find baby, toddler, and children’s favorites like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom*, The Cat in the Hat*, The Most Magnificent Thing*, Click Clack Moo Cows that Type*, Giraffes Can’t Dance*, Barnyard Dance*, The Day the Crayons Quit*, Little Blue Truck*, Llama Llama Red Pajama*, Be Who You Are, Little Shop of Monsters, The Pout Pout Fish, and many more!
Free in-app ebooks and poetry like The Tale of Peter Rabbit*, A Marvelous Mexican Misunderstanding, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s, The Cow* are also included.
*also available in Spanish
Carefully crafted collections are updated regularly to help you find books for all ages, grade levels, topics and occasions - such as seasonal favorites, multiculturalism, life events, hobbies, and more.