Speakaboos

Speakaboos is a straightforward product: classic and original stories and songs, illustrated and read or sung aloud by celebrities like The Office’s John Krasinski, Survivor host Jeff Probst and That 70’s Show star Wilmer Vilderrama (a voice already beloved by small children as Handy Manny). Users can read a few dozen free books on the site in categories like fairy tales and adventure stories or from popular franchises like Arthur, download related worksheets or play simple games like word searches based on the stories; access to the full library of 200 books costs $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. (A separate spinoff set of stories and activities called Space Race appears to be entirely free.)

Exact usage and subscriber numbers are unavailable, but creator Conscious Content Media says Speakaboos is used “by thousands of students in hundreds of homes, classrooms and libraries around the world” and that users read “an average of 50 storybooks per month and spend over two and a half hours reading on the service.”

Speakaboos also has an inexpensive Stories2Go app available for the iPhone and its iPad and Android apps are in development.