Back in August 2014, the BBC launched an app called CBeebies Storytime, which offered a collection of stories based on shows from its CBeebies pre-school TV channel. We really liked it.
Now the app, which has been downloaded more than a million times on iOS and Android, is getting even more stories with a new “library” feature. It’ll enable parents to download more stories for free, with some famous narrators.
Six are available this week, with more to follow in the summer. The feature is being modelled on real-world libraries: the theory is that kids will be able to “borrow” up to 12 stories at a time, returning some to get new ones whenever they like.
The new stories, then: broadcaster Lauren Laverne reads Tee and Mo – Who Did the Footprints?, revisiting her narrator role from its parent show. Meanwhile, actor Maxine Peake reads CBeebies Fairytales – Cinderella.
CBeebies stars are also involved: Show Me Show Me’s Chris Jarvis reads CBeebies Stargazing – The Eclipse Party, while Mr Bloom reads CBeebies ELves and the Shoemaker. There are also two stories based on Topsy and Tim and Swashbuckle.
Oh, but wait. Later this summer comes something special. Well, Something Special – Mr Tumble at the Park too, but we’re talking about another new story that will set off all kinda of nostalgic klaxons for parents.
Clangers – Space Tangle will be based on the remake of the classic kids’ TV show that’s hitting our screens this year. And its narrator is another star who’s been famous since the 1960s: Michael Palin. The new stories will be available across all the versions of the app.
CBeebies Storytime is a free download for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, and a free download for Android from the Google Play store – we think it’s only available here in the UK, given its BBC background.
If you’re interested in the story behind the stories, so to speak, check out this blog post from the BBC’s Elizabeth Leadbeater.
“The new download feature also allows you to select stories that reflect your child’s reading level. It creates a personalised experience too, giving children the freedom to select their favourite characters and stories.In this way children are able to make the app feel like their own,” she writes.
“It had always been our plan to release more stories, but when we recognised there was an appetite for them, we decided to speed up production to satisfy the demand.”