Learning to read, ages 4 to 6
Your child is the hero of their own world.
Little printed books starring your child and the people they love, using only the letter sounds they know. Your child reads them on paper, not a screen.
Your child's screen time: about 2 minutes to pick tonight's story, or none if you pick it for them. On other days there's an optional short sound game; Paper only turns it off.
Free while we test it with a small group of families. Printed at home on plain paper, built on the science of reading.
Read the words, then turn the page
Each picture is printed on the back of its page. Your child reads the words first, then turns the page to see the picture, so they read instead of guessing.
Prefer them side by side? You can choose that when you print.
Warm-up words
cap can get
The cap is in a bag.
3Pip has a cap.
2
1 Your child reads
Sam and Pip can sit.
↑ your child's name here
12 Then turns the page
How it works
Bear Cub is your child's reading buddy. It does the planning, so you and your child get the fun part.
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Your child picks who and where
Grandma, the dog, the park, the pool. In the app, your child taps pictures of the people and places in their life, with no reading needed, or you choose for them.
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A real book, made just for them
Share one photo and Bear Cub draws your child as a coloring-book character, using an AI image service. You approve the drawing, and we don't keep the photo.
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Bear Cub guides the next step
Each book builds on the last, one new sound at a time. Bear Cub suggests what comes next, and you decide when your child is ready to move up.
What a night looks like
About 20 minutes, a few nights a week.
- 2 min
Pick tonight's adventure
- 3 min
You print and staple it
- 10 min
Your child reads it to you
- 5 min
Color it in
Peek inside a first book
Four of the eight pages from a real first book. Sam and Pip the pup are made up; in yours, your child is the star. Here each picture sits above its words; in print it's on the back.
Warm-up words, inside the cover
GROWN-UP READS · Words
Practice
cap
Review
can get
The pages scroll sideways. Use the arrow keys to see the next page.
Sam and Pip can sit.
Page 1Pip has a cap.
Page 2
The cap is in a bag.
Page 3
Sam can get it.
Page 6
What you can count on
Honest progress
You see what your child has read and practiced, in plain words. No scores, stars or streaks.
Nothing gets lost
Every book you make stays in your family's library, ready to print again.
Your family's privacy
- No ads, no analytics and no tracking scripts, on this page or in the app.
- We never sell your family's information or share it for marketing.
- We don't keep the photo you share for your child's drawing.
- Your books and notes are private to your household. When you ask, we permanently delete your household's records, books and pictures, and tell you when it's done.
Full privacy details
- Children never get accounts, logins or email, and we never contact them.
- To draw story pictures, an image service receives the scene, first names and ages, and the drawn characters you approve. It never receives your photos or notes.
- For the waitlist we keep only your email and the day you joined, with Cloudflare, which runs this page. We use it only to write to you about Bear Cub Reading.
Questions parents ask
How much screen time is it?
About 2 minutes for your child to tap a few pictures and pick tonight's story, or none if you pick the people and places yourself. Then your child reads on paper. On other days there's an optional short sound game, one round a day with no points, streaks or ads, and you can practice a book together on screen. Paper only turns both off, so practice is on paper too.
What age is it for?
Children about 4 to 6 who are just starting to read, from first letter sounds to short books.
My child doesn't know their letters yet. Is that OK?
Yes. You try a few sounds together, and you confirm where your child starts. Nobody is placed by age.
Do I need to be a teacher?
No. The grown-up screen in the app shows how to say each sound and what to do when a word gets stuck.
What does "built on the science of reading" mean here?
Children learn letter sounds in a planned order, and each book uses only the sounds they have been taught, plus a few everyday words like "the" and "a" that you confirm your child knows. Teachers call these decodable books. We don't promise reading by a certain date. Every child moves at their own pace.
Do I need a printer?
Yes: any home printer and plain paper. Black and white is fine. Two-sided printing is easiest, and we show you how to manage without it.
Can brothers and sisters use it?
Yes. Each child gets their own path and their own books.
What will it cost?
It's free while we test it with our first families. Prices aren't set yet. When we open more widely, we plan a free trial with no card needed, cancelling in one tap, and the books you've made stay yours to print. Waitlist families hear first.
Join the waitlist
Leave a grown-up's email and we'll write when there's a place for your family. It's the only thing we ask for.
Thank you!
We'll write to you when there's a place for your family.
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