1st Place Global App Competition 1,400+ applicants

The guidance for family reading we've been missing.

The app where the moment matters as much as the pages turned. Find the right book, get guidance for reading together, and capture what came up — before it fades.

Start free

No credit card. Free for 14 days, then $6.99/month.

Connection Guidance

Books open something. We help you hold onto it.

Open any book. Choose the kind of moment you want. ENGAGE gives you connection guidance for that particular book — powered by The ENGAGE Method®, vetted by clinicians, ready when you are.

ENGAGE app — Last Stop on Market Street with Connection Guidance
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Children's Book Mastery
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SCBWI
Authority Magazine
Bookshop.org
Voyage Dallas
Reading To Connect Day™
Bubble.io AI for Good — Best Pitch 2025
Children's Book Mastery
Harper Kids Tastemaker
Women in Publishing Summit
Dallas Moms
CHLA
SCBWI
Authority Magazine
Bookshop.org
Voyage Dallas
Reading To Connect Day™
Bubble.io AI for Good — Best Pitch 2025
How ENGAGE works

This isn't a reading app. It's a connection loop. Built to grow with your family.

— ENGAGE Community

What this looks like in real homes.

Real shared reading moments, captured by real families using ENGAGE. Shared with permission.

Churro Stand book cover
Age 8

Churro Stand

A kid at school teased my son about working the food cart with me on the weekends. I knew he felt embarrassed but didn't want me to know it. The next weekend… he helped make the sign for our table. His idea. He wrote our last name on it in big letters!!

Joy Appreciation Cultural Pride
The Yellow Bus book cover
Age 5

The Yellow Bus

I recently had to switch my son to the bus. That was hard in itself! But even harder watching him cry as the bus pulled off 😭. We read this book so many times and by Friday Omar was the one saying, "The bus always comes back." He got on without crying. I cried in the car the whole way home.

Belonging Resilience Major Transitions
The Rock in My Throat book cover
Age 8

The Rock in My Throat

Aaron has always had a hard time saying when something hurts. After this book he pointed to his chest and said, "I have one of those too sometimes." We talked about it for a while after that 💕

Courage Empathy Big Emotions
Frog and Toad Are Friends book cover
Age 7

Frog and Toad Are Friends

I can't believe it took so long for me to read this with him! We giggled the whole way through 🥰

Belonging Joy Kindness Empathy
Rocket Says Look Up book cover
Age 6

Rocket Says Look Up!

We loved the little fun facts about space shared with the readers. But big brother really stole my kiddos' attention. Why is he looking down? He's so angry. Our biggest take away from this one was to be present with the ones you love and give technology a break — you might miss something amazing.

Curiosity Joy Determination
Seya's Song book cover
Age 8

Seya's Song

We read this when R was pretty sleepy already. She rarely falls asleep reading, but this one is so peaceful with a measured, soft cadence, and calming words. By the end, she had dozed off. At first I was a bit disappointed that she didn't hear the whole story, but then realized it did its work by bringing her peace and comfort ❤️

Belonging Big Emotions
Quinn Cummings, founder of Reading To Connect
Quinn Cummings

I'd read Big Bad Bunny a hundred times. I didn't know if it mattered.

By the time my son was four, I'd read him Big Bad Bunny about a hundred times. I was exhausted. Reading was supposed to build our bond. But I kept asking myself: did this moment matter, or did I just check off a task?

That question wouldn't leave me alone. I started writing down what shared reading was actually doing for us. Then I started talking to other parents in our community about what was happening in their homes. I ran read-alouds at schools, sat with literacy teachers, interviewed authors and child development specialists on my podcast. Six years of listening — to families, to professionals, to the kids themselves — turned that question into a method. The method became this app.

I built it for the parents who are asking the same question I was.

Quinn Cummings
Founder, Reading To Connect
Certified Family Life Educator
— How ENGAGE is different

You already know why this matters. Knowing isn't the hard part.

ENGAGE shows you how.

How would you like to connect through this book?
Where the Wild Things Are book cover
From the library
Where the Wild Things Are
Ages 5–8
Sample Connection Guidance
"Before you open the book, ask your kid what they think a 'Wild Thing' might be."
Curiosity-led reading turns a book into a starting point, not a finish line.
Last Stop on Market Street book cover
From the library
Last Stop on Market Street
Ages 5–8
Sample Connection Guidance
"Does Nana remind your kid of anyone special in our family? Share who she reminds you of first."
When a character reminds you of someone real, the book stops being about strangers and starts being about us.
Goodnight Moon book cover
From the library
Goodnight Moon
Ages 5–8
Sample Connection Guidance
"Read the 'Goodnight' lines in a very soft, sleepy voice. Let your kid take a turn saying them too."
When you bring your voice into the room, your child stops following the pages and starts walking into them.
Soul Food Sunday book cover
From the library
Soul Food Sunday
Ages 5–8
Sample Connection Guidance
"When the family gathers for their Sunday meal, share one of our own family traditions. Ask your kid what they like about it."
A book opens the door to your own family stories. ENGAGE keeps it open long enough for a real exchange.
Each Kindness book cover
From the library
Each Kindness
Ages 5–8
Sample Connection Guidance
"Ask your kid what they would do if a new kid like Maya came to their class."
Their inner world is already there. The right question lets it out.
Harold and the Purple Crayon book cover
From the library
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Ages 5–8
Sample Connection Guidance
"Ask your kid what other colors Harold might use if he had more crayons."
Imagination is connection. The book is the room — you decide where it goes.
— Now, the part where you decide.

You're already reading together.
This helps you hold onto what happens.

Find the right book. Get guidance for reading together. Capture what came up — before it fades. The practice that's already changing how families read together.

Start free

No credit card. Free for 14 days, then $6.99/month.

Finally — guidance for family reading.

— Common questions

Things parents ask before they sign up.

Is ENGAGE for my kid, or for me?

It's for you. ENGAGE is a parent app — you read the prompts, you capture the moments, you build the Connection Story. Your kid just gets the version of you that's actually present. They don't need to download anything.

What ages does this work for?

The app is built for ages 5–12, with reading guidance written in two bands: 5–8 and 9–12. We focus on picture books because — yes, even at 12 — picture books do emotional work no chapter book can match.

ENGAGE stands by that. Picture books are for every age.

How is this different from the ENGAGE Method Masterclass?

The Masterclass teaches you the framework. You take it and apply it to any book, at any age, with any kid.

The app does the work for you. We've taken the framework and built it into the picture books in the library — every book ages 5–12 has the prompts already written, the values pre-tagged, and the capture flow ready. You don't have to think about it. You just read.

If you want to learn the method and apply it freehand, take the Masterclass. If you want the method built in and ready, get the app. Most parents do both.

What if my kid doesn't love reading?

Then ENGAGE is especially for you. The library starts with books matched to whatever your family is navigating right now — not what a reading level says. Most reluctant readers aren't reluctant about stories. They're reluctant about being told to read. We start with the story.

Is this going to be one more thing I can't keep up with?

We built it assuming you're tired. The prompts are pre-written so you don't have to think during the read. Capturing a moment takes thirty seconds and only happens after the book, never during. There's no streak to maintain, no daily check-in, no shame for the weeks you skip.

The practice is built to survive real life, not perform it.

— Reviewed

ENGAGE has been used & reviewed by people who work with kids every day.

"ENGAGE does what countless literacy programs don't — it helps parents create connection that drives language development and confidence."

Shenee Omuso, MAT, MA, CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist

"This app makes storytime enjoyable and engaging — turning reading into a special bonding experience rather than a daily challenge."

Dr. Sheila R. Thomas, Ed.S.

"The Parent Partner" · Brazelton Touchpoints–trained

"A beautiful way for parents to find books, track values, and capture moments — nothing else brings it all together like this."

Chelsea C. Elliott, MSW

Founder, Sōmōcom Lab · Children's Emotional Intelligence