Many teachers require children to track nightly reading minutes; these reading logs require a parent’s initial to ensure that the assignment has been completed. However, these logs don’t always paint an accurate picture of a child’s reading data.

Children who accrue their nightly reading minutes don’t always progress in their reading. While dedicating time to reading shows assignment completion, did the child gain knowledge or reading fluency? Did they read a full chapter or finish a short book? Were they perhaps just waiting out the clock? A simple app for tracking books read shows a different aspect of a child’s reading data. What is the best app for tracking? Read on to find out!

Apps for Tracking Book Reading: Look for Apps with Built-In Libraries

Children of all ages (and even adults) benefit from apps that show a list of completed books. This functionality provides a sense of reward and accomplishment. There is a bit of inner happiness when the user opens up an app and sees how many books they read.

Apps with this built-in functionality are not difficult to find. In fact, even the Books app via Apple devices shows users a bookshelf or a round-up of all the books they read via the app. In addition, Books also tracks the completion of books as a user reads; for example, the app shows that a book is “15 percent” complete. This gauge also helps readers understand how far they are in a specific book.

While this type of measurable data can be helpful for some readers, it also could be distracting or frustrating. Seeing that only a small percentage of the book has been completed could feel overwhelming.

Those who use Android devices also have access to numerous built-in book readers. This app also offers a read-aloud function.

Apps for Tracking Books: Using the Basmo App

Basmo is an AI-powered app. It’s unique in that it lets readers interact with their stories. This app is available via Google Play and the App Store. However, it is worth noting that while the app is rated 4+, it might be geared more towards teens and adults.

Basmo tracks the books read by users. In addition, the app allows users to take a picture of a page and make notes about the book as they read. These features could be useful for older children who struggle with reading comprehension. Making notes while reading is a beneficial strategy for guiding and aiding comprehension.

Interestingly, the new Beta function of the Basmo app actually enables users to ask questions about the book. Using AI, the function helps users find the answers to their questions within the book. Again, this feature could be beneficial for older students who struggle with comprehension.

Best Apps for Tracking Books Read: Do Children Need an App to Track Books?

Not all children read books via ereaders. Many children enjoy sitting down with a physical book. The bound book provides a tactile and tangible experience. While reading apps offer an engaging online experience, the physical book lets children turn the pages and hold the book in their hands.

How can parents and children track books read outside of an app? Basmo and ereaders on tablets track ebooks, but they do not account for the books that children read from their own bookshelves.

Parents don’t need an app to track these books. Instead, parents can create a unique tracking system that encourages children to read more books and visualize the books they already read.

For children who have a bookshelf at home, parents can separate books into ‘read’ or ‘unread’ per shelf. Children can make colorful signs to denote shelves for placing the books they have read and shelves for books they still wish to read.

Not all homes include a bookshelf or an area for books. In addition, families might check-out books from a local library. How can they track these books if the family does not own the book?

Create a book list at home to place in the child’s room. This can be a wipe board, or parents can write down the books children read to add to this visual list. Children also can be tasked with adding the book title to the list.

What is the Benefit of Using Apps or Other Methods to Track Books Read?

Parents do not have to track or tally the books their children read. Some parents might find that trying to track books just becomes another item on their to-do list. Not every strategy works for every family, and that’s ok.

The benefit of tracking books read is that seeing the number of completed books can feel rewarding to a child. There is a sense of accomplishment when a child has a visual understanding of their reading progress. Apps are an easy means to track books read; however, apps typically only track ebooks. Not every child reads ebooks.

A simple solution for tracking books read is to simply make a list. Again, families also might like to track completed books by denoting shelves on a bookshelf for “completed” books. Other families could utilize other strategies for tracking.

Both the App Store and Google Play offer many different apps that track books read. Remember, though, that this tracking capability is often tied to ebooks read via the app. 

Readability is the Best App for Reading Help and Book Tracking

When parents search for reading tracker apps via Google Play or the App Store, they also might look for reading helper apps that provide reading help for their child. Readability offers functionality for tracking books read within the app and the capability to guide a child’s reading journey.

Readability is designed for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Each child begins the program one reading level below their current level; this strategy helps them feel comfortable using the app and allows them to quickly level up.

The app is designed with a built-in AI reading tutor. Each level includes a library of books that children read aloud; as the child reads, the tutor learns their voice and identifies when the child needs help and guidance. The tutor provides encouragement and also serves as the ‘brain’ behind the app’s reading data collection. At the end of each story, the tutor leads a comprehension quiz to measure the child’s understanding. In addition, the tutor also measures the reading fluency of each child; fluency is measured in words read per minute.

When children complete a book in the app, the program saves the data. Children can review all the books they completed in the app. In addition, parents can view this and other reading data for their child via a private portal; in the portal, parents can see their child’s reading level, their comprehension mastery, and even the amount of time their child used the app.

Find the Best App for Tracking Books Read

Parents who want to explore the best app for tracking books and help their child read more confidently and fluently can sign up for a free seven-day trial period of Readability. Explore the app and understand how it transforms the reading adventure.