Netflix for kids’ books makes reading fun with unlockable achievements

Epic! offers a large digital library of children's titles, complete with rewards for finishing chapters and embarking on reading marathons.

Getting kids to read can sometimes be a difficult task if they don’t have a lot of options to choose from or — what’s more likely — they’d rather play on their phone or tablet. While ideas such as the scannable Smart PJ’s have embraced new technologies to make picking a new story at bedtime more engaging, a new service for kids called Epic! offers a large digital library of children’s titles, complete with rewards for finishing chapters and embarking on reading marathons.

The platform is designed with bright colors and a kid-friendly interface, offering all-you-can-read online and offline reading for USD 9.99 a month. Epic! so far has a library of over 2,000 titles, and its streaming technology means that the books don’t need to be downloaded and kids can begin reading as soon as they’ve decided. Kids unlock achievements as they progress through each book, as well as for reading for long periods of time. They can also rate each title and create a library of their favorite books. Parents can also use the app to check their child’s reading habits over time. The video below shows the app in action:

Epic! is available on the App Store, and could be a way to get kids to spend their time more fruitfully on their iPad. Are there other ways to use digital technologies to get kids to read more?