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African Storybook

africanstorybook.org

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Spec score 8.9 #2 of 27 in Open Educational Resource Platforms

What it is

African Storybook develops and publishes picture storybooks in African languages to support children’s literacy, enjoyment and imagination. Its stories and tools are intended for children aged two to ten, including early childhood and the first three years of primary school. The free Reader app lets parents and children access books offline. With the free Maker app, people can create storybooks offline on a phone or tablet, then publish them to the website once connected. Website tools also support creating, translating and adapting picture books, and readers can download titles for offline reading or print them. Stories may be read, copied, adapted and translated without payment or permission, subject to attribution and any non-commercial restriction attached to a particular story. Creating, adapting or translating requires registration; users must be at least 18 or have parent or guardian permission. The site distinguishes ASb-approved stories from those made on the website or in the Maker app that have not been checked. It also offers video and written guidance on using and developing picture storybooks. The initiative is free, with Android, iOS and web access.

Spec sheet

What it does
African Storybook provides openly licensed picture storybooks intended to support literacy, enjoyment and imagination for children in African languages.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Purpose
The initiative develops and publishes contextually appropriate picture storybooks in African languages to support children’s literacy, enjoyment and imagination.Read 28 Sep 2026 · my.africanstorybook.org
Audience
The materials target children from about age two through the first three years of primary school.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Support
The site publishes a support email address and telephone number and links to help and notes for reporting story quality issues.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Headquarters
Johannesburg, South AfricaRead 28 Sep 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Founded
2014Read 28 Sep 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Collections
Users can assemble anthologies by language, theme, reading level or category, with collections of up to five stories described in the usage guidance.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Company legal identity
Saide identifies itself as a South African NGO with registration number 1355/92 and NPO 041-137.Read 15 Oct 2026 · cnfs.saide.org.za
Content review status
Only ASb-approved books appear in the Reader app; books created on the website or Maker app are identified as not checked.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Create and adapt
Website tools let users create, translate and adapt picture storybooks.Read 28 Sep 2026 · my.africanstorybook.org
Current catalog
The homepage displays 5,502 storybooks, 9,216 translations and 261 languages.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Data practices
Google Play listings for both apps state that no data is collected and no data is shared with third parties, based on developer-provided disclosures.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Documentation
Official documentation includes guides for creating, translating, adapting, using both apps, reading offline, downloading and printing, and registering and publishing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Founded and headquarters
LinkedIn lists Saide as founded in 1992, headquartered in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, and employing 11–50 people.Read 15 Oct 2026 · za.linkedin.com
Guidance
The site offers video, how-to and in-depth guides for using and developing picture storybooks.Read 28 Sep 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Guide feature
The GUIDE area contains video guides, how-to guides and in-depth guides about using and developing picture storybooks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Independent description
The U.S. Department of State’s American English site describes the project as illustrated stories about African children, available at different English levels for parents and people working with children.Read 15 Oct 2026 · americanenglish.state.gov
Integrations and partners
The initiative lists support from Lenovo Foundation, MC2H Foundation, Cameron Schrier USA, Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, Zenex Foundation, Comic Relief UK and Google.org.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Licence
Storybooks use Creative Commons Attribution or Non-Commercial terms, allowing reuse, distribution and adaptation with required attribution and any applicable non-commercial restriction.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Limit: Maker app complaints
AppBrain user comments report missing or invisible saved text, inability to save reliably, questions about finding published books and frustration with short per-page text limits.Read 15 Oct 2026 · appbrain.com
Limit: Reader app issues
Chrome-Stats reports complaints about freezing, difficulty reaching additional books, lack of audio narration and published stories sometimes not displaying.Read 15 Oct 2026 · chrome-stats.com
Limit: uneven language coverage
An independent review notes that some languages listed in the selector have no texts and that coverage is stronger for languages in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.Read 15 Oct 2026 · alllanguageresources.com
Make feature
The MAKE area supports creating new picture storybooks, translating, adapting for reading levels and building collections.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Maker and owner
African Storybook is an initiative of Saide, the South African Institute for Distance Education, rather than a separately identified commercial software company.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Maker app
The Maker app works offline, accepts users’ photographs or pictures from the African Storybook library, and uploads completed books when connectivity returns.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Open licensing
Stories can be read, downloaded, printed, copied, adapted and translated without permission or a fee, subject to attribution and any non-commercial restriction attached to a story.Read 28 Sep 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Praise: educational value
Chrome-Stats summarizes users’ positive comments about African-language learning, children’s literacy, simple navigation and culturally diverse content.Read 15 Oct 2026 · chrome-stats.com
Praise: language access
Independent language-learning reviewers praise the free library for offering beginner stories in many African languages, often with English versions and graded difficulty.Read 15 Oct 2026 · alllanguageresources.com
Printing formats
The website supports print-ready output as PDF or booklet, including black-and-white or full-colour printing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Project launch
The African Storybook project launched in 2014 and was initially piloted in Kenya, South Africa, Lesotho and Uganda.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Rating on AppBrain Maker
3.36 out of 5 from 65 ratingsRead 15 Oct 2026 · appbrain.com
Rating on AppBrain Reader
4.00 out of 5 from 120 ratingsRead 15 Oct 2026 · appbrain.com
Rating on Chrome-Stats Reader
4.13 out of 5 from 134 ratingsRead 15 Oct 2026 · chrome-stats.com
Rating on Google Play Maker
3.4 out of 5 from 80 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Rating on Google Play Reader
4.1 out of 5 from 145 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Reach reported by maker
Saide reports that from 2014 through the end of 2018 the initiative reached 48,303 educators and 1,145,226 children.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Read and print
Readers can download storybooks to read offline or print.Read 28 Sep 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Read feature
Users can browse individual books or themed collections and download them for offline reading or printing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Reader app
The Reader app lets users explore approved books, download selected language versions and read them from an offline library.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Registration limit
Creating, adapting or translating stories requires registration, and the terms say users must be 18 or older or have parent or guardian permission.Read 28 Sep 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Review status
The site distinguishes ASb-approved stories from website-created and Maker-app-created stories that are not checked.Read 28 Sep 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Security and compliance
The pages reviewed describe story licensing and user-content responsibilities but do not state a security certification or compliance standard.Read 28 Sep 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Security statement
The privacy terms say the service collects browser and usage information, may collect IP addresses for logged-in users or commenters, and cannot guarantee absolute security of stored or transmitted information.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org
Translation and adaptation
Communities, educators and language speakers can translate or adapt existing stories for their local contexts.Read 15 Oct 2026 · saide.org.za
Use feature
The site provides examples and guidance showing how African Storybooks can be used in educational and community settings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org

Plans and prices

African Storybook Free Thousands of openly licensed free picture storybooks · free Reader and Maker apps Read 28 Sep 2026 · my.africanstorybook.org
Free access Free openly licensed storybooks · online/offline reading · downloads and printing · creation, translation and adaptation tools Read 15 Oct 2026 · africanstorybook.org

Every African Storybook plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free Reader and Maker apps.
  • Reader app provides offline story access.
  • Maker app supports offline creation and later publishing.
  • Stories can be downloaded, printed and adapted.
  • Available on Android, iOS and the web.

Limits

  • Creating or adapting stories requires registration.
  • Users need to be 18 or have guardian permission.
  • Some user-created stories have not been checked.

Who it suits

African Storybook suits families, educators and others looking for picture books for children aged two to ten, including offline access. Its creation and adaptation tools may also suit people developing or translating books in African languages.

Verdict

African Storybook combines free reading with tools for creating and adapting picture books. Readers should distinguish approved stories from unchecked user-created titles and review each story’s attribution or non-commercial restrictions.

Where Specifiction places it

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