Common Sense Media Review
By Dana Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Diverse, huge, searchable library of kids' books, videos.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Epic! - Kids' Books and Videos
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 59 parent reviews
Parents say the app provides a vast digital library with a variety of children's books and videos, which can engage kids and encourage reading, particularly during remote learning. However, significant concerns have been raised about the app's high subscription costs, lack of effective customer service, inappropriate content, and difficulties in canceling subscriptions, leading many users to label it a scam not worth the investment.
- variety of books
- customer service issues
- inappropriate content
- difficult cancellation
- high subscription cost
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
Based on 20 kid reviews
Kids say the app is primarily geared towards young children, particularly those in lower elementary grades, and offers a limited selection of engaging content for older kids, leading many older users to describe it as boring or not age-appropriate. Complaints also include issues with access limitations outside school hours, the quality of the book selection, and customer service, with many reviewers recommending alternatives like libraries instead.
- age-inappropriate content
- limited selection
- high costs
- poor customer service
- negative user experience
Summarized with AI
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
EPIC! - KIDS' BOOKS AND VIDEOS allows parents or kids to set their own preferences for the types books they like to read, topic interests, and age level. Explore the bookshelf-like categories (based on genre), and tap a cover, or use the search option to search for books by keyword. As books open, they reveal a brief synopsis, estimated reading time, reading level, author, and publisher. Tap on the page to expand, swipe to turn to the next page, adjust brightness and flip pages by swiping, and tap the bookmark to mark your page. There's a built-in Merriam-Webster dictionary that's written accessibly for kids; tap and hold on any word to see its definition. You also can earn badges, choose favorites, and track the number of books read, the amount of time read, and pages flipped. There are also over 1,000 educational videos from sources like National Geographic Kids and Flocabulary.
Is It Any Good?
This app brings a virtual library of books to your kids' fingertips. With visually beautifully graphic novels, read-to-me picture books, and longer audio books, there are thousands of titles for kids age 2 to 12, with more titles added weekly. If your kid is already an avid reader, there may be some favorite book series or authors they won't find here; no app can cover them all. And, though there are some text-heavy books, the collection seems to favor picture books and beginner chapter books. But the variety available on this so-called "Netflix for kids' books" paid subscription service is impressive. One downside: If kids feel pressure by being tracked on the time it takes to read or it takes them longer to read a text than the estimated reading time, encourage them to skip that information page. Epic! - Kids' Books and Videos can definitely be worth the subscription price, especially if your kid is an avid reader.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about book genres. Which genre does your kid like best in Epic! - Kids' Books and Videos? Least? Why? What genre has he or she never explored?
Encourage your kid to search for books according to a topic they're currently interested in. Using a search tool is a great skill.
Read some of the books aloud to your kids even if they're proficient readers.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android , Chromebook
- Subjects : Language & Reading : reading
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : decision-making , thinking critically , Self-Direction : effort , goal-setting , self-assessment , self-reflection
- Pricing structure : Free to try, Free ($9.99 per month or $79.99 per year; up to four individual child profiles per account. 30-day free trial available.)
- Release date : February 16, 2020
- Genre : Education
- Topics : Adventures , Book Characters , History , STEM
- Publisher : Epic! Creations
- Version : 3.53.2
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 9.3 or later, Andriod 4.2 and up
- Last updated : January 12, 2026
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
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