App
Starfall
$35/yr(0)
Teach Your Monster to Read Reviews (2026): What Parents Say, Pros & Cons
- Price
- From $8.99 one-time
- Grades
- Pre-K–1
- Type
- App, Activity
Updated · By Edulist · 5 sources
Teach Your Monster to Read review summary
A phonics adventure game from a subsidiary of the Usborne Foundation charity. Kids build a monster and teach it to read across three games covering the first two years of reading. Free on computers; $8.99 one-time on phones and tablets.
Teach Your Monster to Read pros and cons
Pros
- Free on computers; one-time $8.99 app with no ads
- Clear phonics sequence from first sounds to short books
- Highly motivating monster-building rewards
- Stats tracker shows strongest and weakest letter sounds
- Backed by a charity with university academic partners
Cons
- Some UK pronunciations differ from American speech
- Doesn't teach letter names alongside sounds
- Kids can move ahead without fully mastering earlier sounds
- Ends around the end of 1st grade
Who Teach Your Monster to Read is for (and who it isn’t)
Best for
- Preschoolers and kindergartners learning letter sounds
- Families who want free, ad-free phonics practice
- Kids who love games and customizing characters
- Classrooms and homeschool co-ops with shared computers
Look elsewhere if
- Children already reading fluently past 1st-grade level
- Families who want a full, parent-led reading curriculum
- Kids who need American pronunciation throughout
What parents say about Teach Your Monster to Read
A summary of public parent feedback we read on forums, app stores and review sites. It is not a set of Edulist family reviews.
App Store reviews are positive, averaging 4.5 stars from about 30,000 ratings. Parents describe kids progressing from simple words to sentences and staying motivated. Complaints focus on missing letter names, British pronunciations and kids skipping ahead.
Common praise
- Fast progress from CVC words to sentences
- Helps struggling early readers enjoy reading
- Monster rewards keep kids playing independently
Common complaints
- Letter names aren't taught with letter sounds
- Some UK pronunciations confuse American kids
- Kids can advance before mastering material
Sources: apps.apple.com · id828392046
Teach Your Monster to Read family reviews
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Is Teach Your Monster to Read worth the price?
All three Teach Your Monster to Read games are free to play on a computer at teachyourmonster.org.
Can a scholarship pay for Teach Your Monster to Read?
Because the computer version is free, most families don't need funding. If you buy the app, a small one-time educational software purchase may be allowable in some ESA programs; each program decides.
No program on Edulist lists Teach Your Monster to Read yet. Save it to your wishlist and we’ll tell you when one does. Many state ESAs let families buy products like this directly; each program decides.
Teach Your Monster to Read alternatives
A long-running nonprofit website and app that teaches phonics, early reading and math through short animated activities, songs and games for pre-K to 5th grade, with some free content and a $35-per-year home membership.
An online reading program for ages 2–13 with five programs in one subscription: Reading Eggs Junior, Reading Eggs, Fast Phonics, Reading Eggspress and Mathseeds.
Reading Eggs vs Teach Your Monster to Read: Paid Program or Free Game? →A phonics program for ages 3–8 (pre-K to 2nd grade) that pairs a step-by-step learn-to-read app with monthly mailed workbooks and decodable storybooks.
Sources
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