Literacy (Reading & Writing)
Last updated: May 4, 2026
To support students between 4-12 years old to learn to read English and enjoy reading for pleasure and knowledge across the curriculum.
Widely adopted in 15 countries
4 languages
Target audience: Educators and teachers, Institutional or administrative staff, Parents or guardians
Grade: Early Childhood Education, Primary Education
Works offline but connectivity for updates required
The information presented is provided by the company, and reviewed in good faith. Learning Cabinet is not responsible for inaccurate content.
How this product was evaluated?
The product is grounded in a pedagogy-first approach, supported by a clear theory of change and logic model. It combines communicative and task-based learning with structured scaffolding to build independence. It also aligns with the Science of Reading through a UK DfE-validated synthetic phonics programme. Design is guided by frameworks like Digital Promise GROW. Impact is measured through research, implementation data, and continuous feedback to improve learning outcomes.
Pickatale has small pilot or expert review with documented outcomes.
Different levels of research evidence indicate the reliability of the proof of positive impact. The tools featured in the Learning Cabinet range from:
Pickatale (literacy app) plans "Create" feature: AI-generated books by teachers, then kids. Target future-ready skill = iterative prompt engineering. Research design: 3-arm quasi-experiment (no app / app / app+Create), 50+ per group. Launch Sept 2025
Recommended use
Generally, it is expected that children spend 10-15 minutes minimum a day reading books in the Pickatale Library to practise and enjoy reading. The full phonics learn to read programme demands 30 mins per day. Fluency assessments are termly. Pickatale Create (AI book creator) as teacher needs etc.
Generally, it is expected that children spend 10-15 minutes minimum a day reading books in the Pickatale Library to practise and enjoy reading. The full phonics learn to read programme demands 30 mins per day. Fluency assessments are termly. Pickatale Create (AI book creator) as teacher needs etc.
Target audience
To support students between 4-12 years old to learn to read English and enjoy reading for pleasure and knowledge across the curriculum.
We are able to offer fully adaptable and localised curriculum content and have experience of doing so in many territories across Europe, EMEA, South East Asia, LATAM and we have run pilots in Subsaharan Africa too. If there are any requirements for curriculum alignment in any territory we can provide our content localised as well as work with local publishers, authors, teachers and other such partners to include their content as well.
See response to question above :List the curriculum(s) and framework(s) your product is currently applied to." Also earlier evidence of Pickatale Phonics linked to Science of Reading and UK validated DfE programme Sound Discovery. Our in-book quizzes follow a structured progression based on Bloom’s Taxonomy: Lower-order questions (retrieval and vocabulary) build foundational understanding; and higher-order questions (inference, explanation, summarising) promote critical thinking and deeper text engagement. While structured reading development is core, Pickatale supports Reading for Pleasure.
Here's an example of a recent workshop of our product with a school in the UK to gather feedback in advance of latest release of the Pickatale Phonics product. (Please note, we do not have permission for this information to be in the public domain. Thank you.)
Pickatale originally started as a B2C digital library product in Norway and has now expanded to a complete digital reading solution for learning to read English and enjoying books in many languages. The product is continuously amending of local needs. An example would be with Pickatale Create, our AI book creator, for Malaysia where 400 schools across Johor, teachers and principals at Invictus International School Johor, with Johor State leader S.P.A Muhammad Hilmi running the event. 13 schools were selected to participate in a final competition ‘From Readers to Creators’ Malaysia Digital Book Competition run by Pickatale, JELTA (Johor English Language Teacher's Association). In teams, students used Pickatale Create to make books on a self directed theme of their choosing. 18 books were created to take part in the competition, the judges were from JELTA, Pickatale and Johor State gov. The books were made by students and included submissions along the theme of PSHE, Science, Geography, Wellbeing, Folklore, Literacy. The outcomes were reported to central government in Malaysia.
Yes of course. Our price in Norway, Turkey and Indonesia are generally accepted of the market and the ability to get our product to more readers who don't have access. Market sensitivities will help us dictate a reasonable price appropriate to the market. We are not looking to penalise children in developing nations or even regions in wealthier countries. We have a cost to deliver but our aim is to get Pickatale to as many people as possible. We also try to help out certain non-profit programmes and are always willing to have conversations around that in a different price point. (Please note: The below indicative annual starting price of 10-20 USD with an average of 15USD is per student per year for full commercial deployments. For non profit or good causes we are able to consider and offer alternative pricing for wider access.)
Regional or state government projectsLocal government projectsPartnership models with national institutions
Pickatale does not fulfil the WCAG 2.1 level AA requirementsAutomatic toolsWe feature main characters of inspiring men and women.
Women are seen as leading characters in history and fiction.
Evaluated using the Learning Cabinet’s rigorous EdTech for Good Framework to ensure safety, learning impact, scalability, and inclusion for all learners.
Pickatale has been evaluated by the Learning Cabinet expert team using the EdTech for Good Framework.
Teacher voices matter.
Thanks to our partner, EdTech Impact, Learning Cabinet highlights real classroom experiences to support evidence-informed EdTech decisions.
Teacher | Used Pickatale weekly for 1-2 years
At our school, we have received exceptional CPD, which has inspired us to explore and create innovative books across different subject areas. Our students love the variety and choice of books in the extensive library. The narration feature is brilliant! Our dyslexic students and reluctant readers can now listen to any book they choose and don't have to be limited to books at their reading level. This exposure to language has definitely had an impact on their reading attainment and engagement.
Pickatale is a reading platform for 4-11 year-old students, educators and parents, with a focus on learning to read English (based on the "Science of Reading") and reading for enjoyment (based on a "Reading for Pleasure" pedagogy) as well as future-ready literacy skills with its AI book creator.
Enuma School is a personalized, inclusive, and tablet-based learning application designed to help children develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills at their own pace.
eKidz is an award-winning app that makes acquiring literacy and a new language easy and accessible for every child utilizing a purpose-built AI voice recognition students with precise diagnostics and support.
Transforming South African Education Through Personalized, Adaptive Learning in Mathematics and English, Empowering Children to Understand and Thrive.
