# African Storybook Reader

> Openly licensed picture storybooks for early reading in the languages of Africa

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/org.saide.ASbReader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/org.saide.ASbReader)

## Overview

- **ID:** `org.saide.ASbReader`
- **Platform:** Android
- **Type:** Android app
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Saide-Dev
- **Category:** EDUCATION
- **Downloads:** 56,607
- **Rating:** 4.13 / 5 (143 ratings)
- **Version:** 1.2.5
- **Last updated:** 2024-07-19
- **First published:** 2016-06-03
- **Publisher country:** ZA
- **Size:** 5.24 MB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-15
- **Store listing:** [Google Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.saide.ASbReader)
- **Website:** [http://www.africanstorybook.org](http://www.africanstorybook.org/)
- **Privacy policy:** [https://www.africanstorybook.org/terms.html](https://www.africanstorybook.org/terms.html)

## Description

The African Storybook Reader offers a unique collection of over 1500 openly licensed picture storybooks tailored for early reading in 40 African languages. Designed especially for young children in rural and peri-urban African contexts, it supports reading for pleasure with culturally relevant stories. Teachers and caregivers can explore, download, and read stories offline on smartphones or tablets.

Storybooks range across five reading levels, from simple first words to read-aloud more complex texts, and include English, French, and Portuguese versions to serve diverse regions. The app fosters access to quality early literacy materials in under-resourced languages, featuring contributions from a network of African authors, illustrators, and translators. Users can search stories by language, title, date, or reading level and access related adaptations or translations directly within the app. More storybooks are available on the African Storybook initiative's main website.

## Rankings

- #284,835 — Overall

## Permissions and access

### Permissions

- `android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE`
- `android.permission.INTERNET`
- `android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`
- `android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`

## Review summary

The African Storybook Reader app is praised for its educational value, particularly in teaching African languages and supporting children's literacy. Users appreciate its simplicity and language diversity. However, multiple users report app freezing, difficulty accessing broader content, and the absence of audio narration. The need for constant internet connectivity and occasional issues with displaying published stories also affect user experience. Overall, while the app is a valuable literacy resource, improvements in stability, offline access, and audio features would enhance usability.

### Pros

- Great resource for learning African languages and literacy.
- User-friendly and easy to navigate, especially for children.
- Provides storybooks in various African languages, supporting diverse cultures.
- Free and community-driven content.
- Useful educational tool, especially for early grade readers and literacy development.

### Cons

- App tends to freeze and has stability issues.
- Lacks audio or voice reader functionality, which would enhance usability.
- Issues with exploring or accessing additional books.
- Requires an internet connection; reading offline is not supported.
- Some users experience problems with published stories not displaying properly.

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/org.saide.ASbReader)