Novel Effect: Read Aloud Books
Novel Effect Inc Book iPhoneiPadiPod touch
Novel Effect: Read Aloud Books is a free Book app for iPhone and iPad by Novel Effect Inc. Rated 4.9/5 from 9,806 ratings. Requires iOS 13.0.
- Rating
- 4.9
- 9.8K ratings
- Price
- Free
- on the App Store
- Size
- 212 MB
- Age 4+
- Updated
- Sep 8
- 2026 · v3.11.1
Screenshots
About Novel Effect: Read Aloud Books
Welcome to Novel Effect — an award-winning app that follows your voice as you read out loud from a children’s story book and responds at just the right moment with interactive music, sound effects, and character voices. Bring the story to life, promote literacy, imagination, and fun for kids 12 & under! In the classroom or at home, see why parents and teachers alike say Novel Effect “…turns reading time into a magical experience." - App Store Review. There are 3 versions of the Novel Effect service accessible through the app. New books are added weekly. FREE Free Novel Effect offers hundreds of soundscapes for a library of children’s books curated for teachers, librarians, kids and families. Enjoy limited access to soundscapes for free when you bring your own copy of the print book or ebook! PREMIUM For families and individual educators, Novel Effect Premium offers unlimited access to a library of kid friendly content. Enjoy soundscapes for popular children’s books when you bring your own copy of the book, or read aloud from hundreds of in-app eBooks, including non-fiction and early reader chapter books, as well as exclusive members-only content. CLASSROOM For educators, Novel Effect Premium Classroom offers unlimited access to Premium features and content for one teacher and up to 30 students in a safe and secure environment. Overwhelmingly, educators say reading with Novel Effect is more engaging, creating motivated, confident, and empowered readers. HOW IT WORKS Novel Effect’s service follows along as you read out loud, playing interactive music, sound effects, and character voices in response to your voice. Our library includes a wide variety of high-quality soundscapes for carefully selected family friendly books to engage and promote imagination and learning, updated weekly with new titles! Hundreds of titles are available as in-app eBooks, some titles may require you to read aloud from your own copy. FIND - Use search or browse our collections to find the book you want to read out loud. PLAY - Tap the cover and then choose how you’ll be reading — with print or an eBook. READ - When you hear the chime, start reading aloud! LISTEN - Hear the music and sounds respond to your voice and change with the story. Add a little magic to story time with Novel Effect. PRESS AND EXPERT REVIEWS Novel Effect was featured on Shark Tank, The TODAY Show, and in Forbes, Variety, Lifehacker, and more. “I felt like a real audiobook narrator. My five-year-old tried reading a book on her own… and amazingly, the system picked up her little voice and played the effects at all the right moments.” - Michelle Woo, Lifehacker "Not only did this tool help make poetry come alive for [my student], he asked me if he could try reading... I about fell out of my chair because he never wants to read aloud... and he has asked to go to the library to check out books that he can read along with the app." - Julie Smith, The Techie Teacher® "I think this is cool as cool can be… I love it, I love it!" - Lori Greiner, entrepreneur and investor on ABC’s Shark Tank SAFETY, PRIVACY, AND SUPPORT - Novel Effect requires access to the device's microphone to perform voice-recognition. - The privacy of kids and their grown-ups is our top priority. Voice-recognition is performed on your device, no voice data is saved without express consent. - Please go to http://www.noveleffect.com/privacy-policy or www.noveleffect.com/classroom-privacy-policy to learn more. KEY FEATURES • Hundreds of books with more added weekly • Also includes Spanish books • Online and offline reading • A reading log tracks books you’ve read with the app • Access Novel Effect’s digital library and soundscapes on almost any device Terms of Service https://www.noveleffect.com/terms-of-service
Ratings & reviews
4.9
9.8K ratings
What’s new
Version 3.11.1 · Updated September 8, 2026
• Performance improvements and bug fixes We're always looking to improve. If you have feedback or suggestions send an email to [email protected]
App privacy
The developer, Novel Effect Inc, reported these privacy practices to Apple.
Data Linked to You
The following data, which may be collected and linked to your identity, may be used for the following purposes:
- Contact Info: Email Address, Name
- Usage Data: Product Interaction
- Purchases: Purchase History
- Identifiers: User ID
Used for: Developer’s Advertising or Marketing, Analytics, Product Personalization, App Functionality
Data Not Linked to You
The following data, which may be collected but is not linked to your identity, may be used for the following purposes:
- Search History: Search History
- Diagnostics: Crash Data
Used for: Analytics, App Functionality
Alternatives to Novel Effect: Read Aloud Books
Looking for apps like Novel Effect: Read Aloud Books? Here are 6 similar apps on the App Store. The highest rated is Little Stories: Bedtime Books (4.7/5), and all 6 are free to download.
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Vooks: Read-Aloud Kids' Books
4.5
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Dr. Seuss Treasury Kids Books
4.6
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Little Stories: Bedtime Books
4.7
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LibraryThing
3.5
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Little Free Library
3.8
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BookBub
4.7
| App | Rating | Price | Last updated | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novel Effect: Read Aloud Books | 4.9 / 5 (9,806 ratings) | Free | September 8, 2026 | |
| Vooks: Read-Aloud Kids' Books | 4.5 / 5 (9,822) | Free | Sep 27, 2026 | Compare |
| Dr. Seuss Treasury Kids Books | 4.6 / 5 (16,460) | Free | Aug 31, 2026 | Compare |
| Little Stories: Bedtime Books | 4.7 / 5 (46,368) | Free | Oct 9, 2026 | Compare |
| LibraryThing | 3.5 / 5 (287) | Free | Feb 17, 2024 | Compare |
| Little Free Library | 3.8 / 5 (200) | Free | Oct 2, 2026 | Compare |
| BookBub | 4.7 / 5 (960) | Free | Oct 8, 2026 | Compare |