Tales2Go

This week’s special is an app that’s educational and entertaining but without bright graphics and sound effects. Tales2Go features audiobooks for children and lets them use the best graphics and sound effects of all – those found in their imaginations.

*********

Tales2Go brings an extensive collection of children’s audiobooks to your iPhone. It is free for the first thirty days and after that it becomes a subscription service. Subscriptions are available for one month ($2.99), three months ($6.99) or one year ($24.99). When you sign up with Tales2Go and purchase a subscription you are allowed to register a total of five devices to the account. The subscription will give you access to over 1,300 stories with additional stories being continually added. Stories can be sorted and viewed in the app in a variety of categories. You can see them by age range, grade level, story type, characters and series and more. Stories can also be listed by most popular and highest rated. You may add stories to favorites lists and also search the collection by keyword. The app even keeps a history of what you’ve been listening to in case you forget.

Once you’ve selected a story the audio will begin to play. The audio length could range from several minutes to several hours, depending on the length of the story. If you must stop the story before it’s done you may bookmark your spot in the audio and then come back to that exact spot later. There is also a 30-seconds back button, tap on it and your audio will skip back thirty seconds in the recording. A bar at the top of the screen shows you how much of the story has been “buffered”, when that bar has filled up completely you can take your device beyond a Wi-Fi connection. Load up your story before you get in the car and you’ll be good to go. Tales2Go also supports multitasking which means you can begin your story and then leave the app to use something else on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

I’m a big fan of audiobooks and I think Tales2Go has done a marvelous job putting together this collection for young readers. There are well known titles (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Encyclopedia Brown, Judy Moody, How to Train Your Dragon) as well as lesser known gems. If you are looking for an alternative to DVDs or video games for the car then I think Tales2Go is an excellent alternative. My suggestion is to take advantage of the free thirty day trial, give the app a try and see what you and your children think. I think it could be an invaluable resource for the upcoming holiday travel season.

Price when Reviewed: FREE (After 30 day trial there will be subscription cost to continue use)

See the app in iTunes

Seller: Sticher, Inc.

Disclosure: I received a free subscription to try out Tales2Go.