Learning to read, ages 4 to 6
Your child is the hero of their own world.
Little books starring the people and places your child loves, made from the letter sounds they have learned so far.
Printed at home, built on the science of reading. It's free while we test it with a small group of families.
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. Your child taps pictures of the people and places in their life. No reading needed to choose.
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A real book, made just for them
Bear Cub makes a little book starring your child, using only the letter sounds they have learned so far. Print it, cut it, staple it, and it's theirs to read and color.
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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
Your child chooses who is in the story and where it happens.
- 3 min
Print and staple
A few sheets of plain paper, a few cuts and a staple. That part is a grown-up's job.
- 10 min
Read it together
Warm up with the words inside the cover. Then your child reads the story to you, sounding out each word.
- 5 min
Color it in
Every picture is a coloring page, so your child can color themselves into the story.
On other days there's a short picture game that practices the same sounds. It ends on its own, with no points, streaks or ads.
Peek inside a first book
Four of the eight pages from a real first book, with a made-up friend. In your child's book, your child is the star, in the words and in the pictures.
GROWN-UP READS · Words
Practice
cap
Review
can get
Your child and Pip can sit.
Page 1
Pip has a cap.
Page 2
The cap is in a bag.
Page 3
Your child can get it.
Page 6
What you can count on
Your child reading, not just tapping
The reading happens on paper, out loud, with you beside them.
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.
You stay in charge
Bear Cub never moves your child up on its own. You decide when they're ready.
Your family's privacy
- Children never get accounts, logins or email, and we never contact them.
- 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.
- Your child's character is drawn from a photo you share, using an AI image service. We don't keep the photo, and you approve the drawing before it's used.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Coming soon
Pricing
Bear Cub Reading is free while we test it with our first families. Prices aren't set yet. When we open more widely, here's what we plan:
- A free trial, with no card needed.
- Cancel any time, in one tap.
- Books you have made stay yours to print.
Waitlist families hear first.
Questions parents ask
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. Inside the cover, each book lists the words to warm up with. The grown-up screen in the app shows how to say each sound and what to do when a word gets stuck. Most nights take about 20 minutes.
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.
How much screen time is it?
Very little. Your child uses a screen to pick who and where, and sometimes for a short sound game that ends on its own. The reading happens on paper.
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.
How does my child end up in the pictures?
Your child appears as a simple drawn character, like a figure in a coloring book. We draw it from a photo you share, using an AI image service. The photo is used only for that and we don't keep it. You approve the drawing before it's used, and story pictures are drawn from that drawing, never from photos.
Can brothers and sisters use it?
Yes. Each child gets their own path and their own books.
When can we start?
We're starting with a small group of families. Join the waitlist and we'll write when there's a place for yours.
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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