Common Sense Media Review
By Christy Matte
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sweet, animated books for subscription; needs parent gate.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Vooks
Parent and Kid Reviews
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?
VOOKS is a curated digital library of animated books for young kids. Each story is read aloud and animated, allowing kids to read along as they watch. Kids can browse and search, saving their favorites to an online playlist or downloading them for offline watching. Some of the books are digital versions of those you might find on your own bookshelf. Others seem to be made specifically for digital use.
Is It Any Good?
Kids who are not quite ready to read alone but are eager for a lot of listening will enjoy this collection of books. While Vooks can't replace the experience of reading with an adult who can engage with them over the content, it's a nice quiet-time activity for kids who just can't get enough of reading. Other kids who are used to more interactive device experiences may be bored by the slow, deliberate pace of the narration and the lack of interactivity, though research shows less distraction makes for better reading experiences. The collection, which is constantly evolving, seems small for the subscription fee, but that may change quickly over time. There's also no parent gate on the settings page, where kids can change features such as auto-play but also link out to the subscription management webpage. That aside, in those moments when parents can't sit down and read alongside their kids, they'll appreciate Vooks and its quality content.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about using imagination while reading in apps like Vooks or paper books . Can you make up a story of your own? Draw some pictures to go with your story.
How do you like this app in comparison with other apps you could play? As you balance your time on- and offscreen, would this be an app you'd choose to use? Why or why not?
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
- Subjects : Language & Reading : reading , reading comprehension , storytelling
- Skills : Emotional Development : empathy , labeling feelings
- Pricing structure : Free to try (one-week trial then $4.99/month; $49.99/year)
- Release date : November 14, 2018
- Genre : Education
- Publisher : Vooks LLC
- Version : 4.431
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 10.0 or later; Android 4.3 and up
- Last updated : March 15, 2019
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