We’re big fans of the Me Books app, which is part digital picture-book reader and part store for said books. Now it’s spawned two new standalone apps for familiar children’s brands.

Thomas & Friends Me Books sees the friendly blue train and his pals appear in seven stories, the first of which is included with the initial purchase of the app.

As with other Me Books, each story comes with voice narration, but children and parents can tap on the screen to record their own words and sounds.

The six books in the in-app store cost £2.99 each, or you can pay £13.49 to unlock the full collection. Thomas & Friends Me Books costs £2.29 for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store.

Second up is Biff, Chip & Kipper Me Books, featuring the series of Oxford Reading Tree books that are used widely in British schools for early readers – 80% according to their publisher.

Here, there’s a free book with the initial (free) download, then 27 more to buy – they appear to be £2.29 each, but with an option to pay £32.99 to unlock the full collection.

As with the Thomas & Friends app, voice narration is included, but your children can also record their own – something that’s great for encouraging reading.

Biff, Chip & Kipper Me Books is a free download for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store.

Note, if you already have the original Me Books app, you can buy Thomas & Friends and Biff, Chip & Kipper books from within there too, to sit alongside your collection of other digital stories.