PagekinsThe thinking behind reading pets
A pet offers a small celebration along the way. The moment we’re working towards is a child looking up from a page and saying, “I read that myself.”
How the pets work
A little support for the early steps
Learning to read asks a lot of a child. Early phonics books use a carefully limited set of words so children can practise the sounds they’ve been taught. Those short stories offer useful practice, even when they don’t yet have the richness of the books a child would love to read.
We use pets to give that early practice a small celebration, like a sticker after a story. Our aim is to recognise the effort of learning sounds and blending words, alongside the satisfaction of working something out for yourself.
Pagekins is designed for reading with a parent or carer. There’s room for a shared laugh, another try at a word, and someone beside the child who notices their growing confidence.
A book, an egg, a friend
01 / Read together
Nibbles is there from the start. Other pets are each linked to a particular book, and the app shows which book unlocks them.
02 / Say hello
Completing that book unlocks its pet. Tap the egg for a short hatch animation. The character is a surprise, but the book always unlocks the same pet.
03 / Make a choice
Keep your current friend or choose the new one, then return to the bookshelf. Another story can wait until you’re ready.
The thinking behind the encouragement
Pets are one small part of the experience. Choice, a sense of progress and time with a supportive grown-up matter to the reader we hope to help each child become.
Motivation research highlights the importance of feeling capable, having a say and feeling supported by other people. Positive feedback can support that sense of competence when it also respects the child’s independence. That gives us a reason to make their own achievements visible.
Rewards don’t have the same effect in every situation. One review found greater voluntary engagement after rewards for activities that initially held little interest. Another found no significant loss of intrinsic motivation for initially dull tasks, but no clear improvement either.
That distinction informs our use of pets during effortful early practice. These studies did not test Pagekins or show that digital pets improve phonics learning. Rewards can also reduce interest in activities children already enjoy; we want the reading itself to become increasingly rewarding.
Cameron, Banko & Pierce (2001): Rewards and intrinsic motivation
Deci, Koestner & Ryan (2001): Rewards in education (PDF)
A parent or carer can notice a specific step: “You remembered that sound”, “You blended those sounds together”, or “That sentence felt easier this time.” The aim is to help a child recognise what they can do, with time to try, make mistakes and choose a favourite story.
Keep sharing richer stories aloud, too. A child can enjoy characters, ideas and adventures long before they can read every word independently.
Our goal reaches beyond the app
Our aim is to help children connect written symbols with sounds, use phonics to decode and blend words, and build early fluency. We want that growing ability to open up books they choose because something in them sparks their interest.
As Pagekins develops, our intention is for new pet rewards to end after the early reading stages. Children would keep the companions they’ve earned, while more fluent reading and richer stories take a bigger role. We’re still defining that transition during the beta; there is no automatic fluency-based stopping point in the app yet.
If a child puts down Pagekins and picks up a book they’re excited to read, that is a success. We’d be happy for them to outgrow the app.
Pets currently unlock through completing associated books. A completed book records reaching its end; it doesn’t assess effort, recall or fluency. We’re developing the experience with families, rather than treating a reward as proof of learning.
Playfulness, with clear limits
Book-linked rewards, quiet story pages and companions that can wait until another day. Here’s how pets work in the current beta.
A book’s pet is fixed. Re-reading that book doesn’t produce extra pets or another chance at a different prize.
Your companion lives on the bookshelf. It doesn’t move around over the story while your child is reading.
Pets have no hunger meter or daily care tasks. Missing a reading day doesn’t take away an earned companion. The calendar records reading days; it doesn’t decide which pets you keep.
A tap plays one of several friendly reactions. The animation varies, but it doesn’t award points, currency or more pets.
Help growing readers find their feet
Interested in joining the beta? We’d love to hear about your child’s first “I read that myself” moments, and what helps them enjoy practising together.