What's New: May 2026

Flipbook mode for picture books and early readers

This is the big one. Illustrated stories and early readers now display in a page-by-page flipbook format — swipe or tap to turn pages, with full images centered on each page. It makes picture books feel like actual books instead of long scrolls, and it's especially nice on tablets.

We built flipbook mode alongside a wave of new content designed for it:

  • A Dog Named Sheep and Bazooka Pooka — two bedtime picture books with full-page illustrations
  • Big Wonders — a nonfiction series for Level 3 readers, also in flipbook format. Nonfiction in particular benefits from the page-at-a-time layout, where each spread pairs a concept with an image.
  • Four new early-reader series with five episodes — short, illustrated, and designed for kids just crossing from "learning to read" into "reading to learn"

More stories in the library

For chapter-book readers, we added:

  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — a full classic adaptation for grades 3–4, with three seasons and six episodes of mysteries. Our biggest single title yet.
  • Wren Figures It Out — original contemporary fiction
  • Out There — original sci-fi
  • Mira and the Glowing Mushroom — original fantasy

Built-in dictionary

Long-press any word while reading and you'll get a kid-friendly definition right in the reader. No switching apps, no losing your place. We wrote the definitions ourselves to keep them clear and age-appropriate. A simple routine that works well: when your kid hits a word they don't know, have them long-press it, read the definition together, then re-read the sentence. Ten seconds, builds vocabulary, doesn't break the story's flow.

Subscription and free trial

Worldly now runs on a subscription with a 7-day free trial. Start reading everything in the library today at no cost, and if your family is getting value from it, keep going. Manage your subscription anytime from the profile page.

From the team

This month was about making Worldly work for younger readers — flipbook mode, the dictionary, and a wave of early-reader and picture book content. We're building toward a library where every kid from age 5 to 14 can find something genuinely good. More coming next month.

What's New: April 2026

Worldly is now on iOS and Android

We're live in the app stores! You can download Worldly today on the App Store or Google Play. This is still Early Access mode, but we've been working toward this for a while, and it feels great to have it out in the world.

Seven new stories in the library

We've been busy. This month we added a wave of new reading to Worldly, a mix of reimagined classics and original series:

  • The Monkey King - A 10-episode retelling of Journey to the West, fully illustrated. Follow the irrepressible Monkey King as he causes chaos in heaven, gets trapped under a mountain, and sets off on an epic journey west.
  • Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - Captain Nemo and the Nautilus, adapted for younger readers.
  • Treasure Island - Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver, and a map that starts it all.
  • Peter Pan - Neverland, reimagined and illustrated.
  • Around the World in 80 Days - Phileas Fogg's race against the clock, with scene illustrations throughout.
  • Last Stop in the Universe - An original sci-fi series set at the edge of known space. Two episodes out so far.
  • My Fairy Life - Original contemporary fiction. Two episodes available.

A faster, smoother reading experience

Under the hood, we made the app noticeably faster. Images load more quickly and are cached so they don't re-download. Navigation between chapters now shows a proper loading screen instead of a blank flash. And we added a reading-level onboarding step for new readers. The library now filters to the reader's grade level by default, so they see stories that are right for them.

From the team

This is our first blog post! We'll be sharing updates here each month or so: new stories, app improvements, and the occasional reading tip. If you have questions or feedback, you can always reach us at support@readworldly.com. We'd love to hear from you.