TL;DR: Apple Books is the sleeper hit already sitting on your kid’s iPad. It’s the perfect bridge between "screen time is melting their brains" and "I want them to love reading." By using Family Sharing, you can curate a digital library they actually want to touch.
Top Media Recommendations to Get Started:
- For the Reluctant Reader: Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
- For the "Skibidi" Era Middle-Schooler: The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
- For the Fantasy Obsessed: Percy Jackson & The Olympians
- For the Audio-Visual Learner: Wings of Fire (Graphic Novels)
If you have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you have Apple Books. It’s the pre-installed app that combines an e-book reader, an audiobook player, and a digital bookstore.
While many parents flock to Kindle or Epic!, Apple Books is often overlooked because it’s just there. But for intentional parents, "just there" is a feature, not a bug. There’s no extra subscription to manage (looking at you, Audible), and it integrates perfectly with the Screentime settings you’re already using to keep your kid from falling down a YouTube rabbit hole.
We talk a lot about "brain rot"—that mindless, passive consumption of short-form content like TikTok or weirdly repetitive Roblox videos. Apple Books is the functional opposite.
It uses the same device that provides the dopamine hits of Fortnite, but redirects that engagement toward literacy. It’s a way to reclaim the screen. When a kid says everything is "Ohio" (meaning weird or cringe), they’re usually reacting to the absurdity of the digital world. Giving them a high-quality digital book is a way to ground them in a narrative that actually has a beginning, middle, and end.
Ask our chatbot for a list of books that are better than YouTube
Family Sharing: Buy Once, Read Everywhere
This is the biggest win. If you set up Apple Family Sharing, any book you buy can be shared with up to five other family members. You don't have to buy three copies of The Hunger Games for three different kids. You buy it once, and it shows up in their "Family Purchases" section.
Reading Goals (Gamification Done Right)
Apple Books has a "Reading Goals" feature that tracks how many minutes a kid reads per day. It gives them digital awards and keeps track of "streaks." Normally, we’re wary of gamification (it’s what makes Duolingo feel like a job), but for reading, it works. It provides that little hit of "leveling up" that kids crave in Minecraft, but for finishing a chapter of Wonder by R.J. Palacio.
AI Narration: The Budget Audiobook
Audiobooks are expensive. Apple has introduced "Digital Narration," which uses AI voices that actually sound human (not like a 2005 GPS). While it’s not as soulful as a celebrity reading a memoir, it’s a game-changer for kids with dyslexia or those who just need a little help following along. It makes literature accessible without the $15-per-book price tag.
If your kid thinks reading is a chore, start here. Graphic novels look great on an iPad screen.
- Smile by Raina Telgemeier: (Ages 8-12) The gold standard for middle-school drama.
- Big Nate: (Ages 7-11) Perfect for the kid who likes the humor in Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
- Amulet: (Ages 8-12) High-stakes fantasy that feels like an epic movie.
- The Wild Robot: (Ages 8-11) A beautiful story about technology and nature. Very relevant for the "digital native" generation.
- Percy Jackson & The Olympians: (Ages 9-13) If they haven't read this yet, start now. It's the ultimate "gateway" series.
- Amari and the Night Brothers: (Ages 9-12) Modern, fast-paced fantasy that rivals Harry Potter.
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: (Ages 13+) A darker look at the Hunger Games universe.
- Scythe by Neal Shusterman: (Ages 14+) A brilliant "what if" about a world where no one dies. It's the kind of book that actually sparks a real conversation at dinner.
Apple Books is generally a "safe" app, but there are a few things you need to toggle to keep it from becoming another source of stress.
1. Disable the "Store" for Younger Kids
You don't want your 7-year-old browsing the "Romance" section of the bookstore. You can use Screen Time settings on their device to restrict "Explicit Content" in Books.
- Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Store, Web, Siri & Game Center > Explicit Books. Turn that to "Clean."
2. The PDF Trap
Apple Books is also a PDF reader. This is great for schoolwork, but it also means kids can download PDFs of... anything... from the web and store them there. If you're seeing weird files in their library, that’s how they got there. It’s not a "Books" problem; it’s a "Safari" problem.
3. Night Shift is Your Friend
If they’re reading before bed, make sure Night Shift is scheduled on their iPad. The blue light from the screen will keep them awake longer than the plot of the book will.
Learn more about how blue light affects sleep
The goal isn't to force them to read; it's to make reading as frictionless as opening YouTube.
Try this: "I added a few graphic novels to the Family Library. If you finish your Reading Goal this week, we can grab that new skin in Fortnite."
You’re not demonizing the game; you’re just creating a healthy ecosystem where literacy is the currency for other digital rewards. It's not "entrepreneurship" (like some people claim Roblox is teaching), but it is teaching them how to manage their time and attention.
Apple Books isn't going to solve the "screen time" problem on its own, but it’s one of the best tools we have to make that time meaningful. It’s clean, it’s already paid for (mostly), and it respects your family’s privacy more than almost any other reading app.
If you’re tired of the "brain rot" and want to see your kid actually engaged with a story, take five minutes to set up Family Sharing and drop a few winners into their library.
- Check your Family Sharing settings to ensure "Purchase Sharing" is on.
- Set a daily Reading Goal (start small—15 minutes).
- Download a sample. Every book on Apple Books allows you to read the first chapter for free. Let your kid "shop" the samples so they feel like they have skin in the game.