# READING MAGIC-Learning to Read — user reviews > 37 indexed App Store user reviews of READING MAGIC by PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY, rated 4.60/5 from 41 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reading-magic-learning-to-read/id416896853/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reading-magic-learning-to-read/id416896853.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 33 · 4★ 4 · 3★ 2 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 1 ## Newest reviews (12 of 37) ### 4/5 — Valuable, but flawed for PreK-2 Instruction *2013-04-02* Great app for phonemic awareness and phonics, but the words used are frequently not within a preschooler's listening or speaking vocabularies, which makes some of the items quite challenging and instruction ineffective. Even in this video, we see the reading of the word "hull" and then a picture of grain. How many preschoolers have heard or will use the word "hull" with any frequency? Updating this app with more appropriate words for PreK-2nd grade children would improve it's effectiveness. **Developer response:** Thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback! We truly appreciate your insights as they help us improve our app for young learners. We want to share that since your review, our app has undergone two significant upgrades. These updates include enhancements that aim to better align with the vocabulary levels of preschoolers. While some programs utilize nonsense words to teach reading, we chose to focus on real, albeit less common, words. Our intention is to enrich children's vocabulary by introducing them to new terms in a fun and engaging way. Learning new words can be a valuable experience, helping to expand their language skills. We also want to emphasize that our app's auditory features ensure that children never have to guess the meaning of a word. The app will always provide clear audio guidance for each word, helping children connect the spoken word with its visual representation. In our development process, we used all the common words available in English that could be visually represented and fit the CVC word pattern. To provide a broader learning experience, we included some uncommon words as well. These uncommon words are conveniently placed in a separate tab, allowing parents and educators to choose whether to engage with them or focus solely on more familiar vocabulary. Thank you again for your feedback! We’re committed to continually improving our app to support the learning journey of every child. ### 4/5 — good *2013-01-06, version 4.5* i appreciate this app a lot. it helps my lil sister and its not join to replace traditional learning. ### 3/5 — It's ok. *2013-01-04, version 4.5* It's a good learning tool for kids. The layout is a bit dull, I think it could be more colorful. It's also very easy to use. ### 4/5 — Good *2013-01-04* Another good young child learning app from this developer, I recommend getting the paid version only 99 cents and worth it. ### 4/5 — Excellent for preschoolers *2013-01-04* This app offers a great selection of short vowel words in squares where they can blend the sounds and guess the word before looking at the picture to self check. I would like to see the letters pop up after the picture however to reinforce letter cues. ### 4/5 — a good app that teaches kids to pronounce short vowels *2013-01-03, version 4.5* a good app that teaches kids to pronounce short vowels. this free version contents enough examples. easy to use and useful. ### 4/5 — Nice preview of the deluxe version *2013-01-03, version 4.5* This is a free preview of the deluxe version, bought the deluxe one and it's pretty nice for kids ### 4/5 — The app is a lot better *2013-01-03* The newest version of the app is a lot better. I have not ran into the problems that have been reported about earlier versions. ### 4/5 — It does what it says *2013-01-03* I like this app. It's not going to replace traditional learning. Rather, it's a tool to help kids learn in a fun manner. No complaints about it yet. Will update if I find any problems. ### 5/5 — Great reading book *2013-01-03* This is great application for you little one to understand the fundamental aspect of reading. Great app and graphical interface. I'm going to soon make a application aswell and looking at application excite me. Great work ### 3/5 — Unclear *2011-04-23* I love the concept of this app. I'm glad I finally found an app that helps to sound out words BUT the voice used, although sweet, is unclear. I, myself, have a hard time figuring out what letter she is sounding. For the word "ram", I couldn't for the life of me understand her sounding of the letter "r". This app could be greatly improved by changing the pronunciation of the letters to make them more clear. I would definitely give this app five stars if it weren't for the poor pronunciation...it unfortunately ruins it. ### 4/5 — Exactly what I was looking for *2011-03-29, version 1.0* Well day 2 and the app is still working. My kids love it, they just started reading 3 letter words. This is great! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Worst Ap I have ever used (ever!) *2025-03-17* 1. Once you open the Ap there is no way to close it. No “x” or exit. I have to turn my phone off and on. 2. Paid for deluxe, no sounds, i select male or female voice. It makes so sound. 3. Have not been able to use it all. Total garbage! ### 1/5 — Used to be good *2015-02-17, version 6.0* The most recent update took away the only useful stuff for my pre-k classroom that was available. Now it's pointless to have...deleting. ### 1/5 — Sound *2012-01-12, version 3.0* Thought this would be an awesome activities for my students who have such trouble blending and segmenting sounds but unfortunately the is NO SOUND! How can u put an app out with no sound???? ### 1/5 — Jemma *2011-05-29, version 2.0* Programme keeps crashing please fix my son is waiting to try it out. Thanks ### 1/5 — Great idea, but . . . *2011-05-17* Very disappointing! Either the voices are VERY unclear or it has been programmed incorrectly and the wrong sound plays for some letters. 'RAM" sounds as "BAN". This makes it unusable as the whole point is for the kids to hear the correct sounds! :-( A real shame, because the concept is good. ### 1/5 — Carol *2011-02-07, version 1.0* It worked right after I downloaded it, but a day later it jams and locks up. If this problem was corrected then it is a great tool. ### 2/5 — Nic *2013-01-03* App is nicely made..it has different letters you can learn in words....rating would be higher, but letters did not show up in boxes...i thinks its a glitch, however it showed the picture and you could hear the sounds. **Developer response:** Thank you for your kind words about our app! We’re thrilled to hear that you appreciate the variety of letters and words available for learning. We also want to address your concern regarding the letters not appearing in the boxes. Since your review, we have implemented two major upgrades, and I’m happy to report that any glitches related to the letters have been fixed. The letters now show up clearly in the appropriate boxes, enhancing the overall user experience. We’re glad to know that the pictures and sounds are functioning well, as we believe these features are essential for engaging young learners. If you encounter any further issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team; we’re here to help! Thank you once again for your valuable feedback. We’re committed to making our app the best it can be for all users! ### 2/5 — Wish for update *2012-10-01* Is it possible that after going through the sounds and the picture coming up that the word is then shown on the tiles to show the letters that make the sound...I'm a teacher w young kids and can see how much better this app can be!! ### 2/5 — I question the quality. *2012-06-29, version 3.0* There are words spelled wrong on the instruction page. This does not inspire much hope for the future of literacy. ### 2/5 — Hated it *2011-03-19, version 1.0* This is the worst app ever it wouldnt let me get out the app after it started to move slow i will never get this app again ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Great learning resource *2026-02-28* This is phenomenal way to have your toddler sit down practice to learn his or her cvc words. ### 5/5 — 3 games for reading fun *2016-05-25* This app helps children read short words, but more importantly it gives them practice blending and segmenting words. This is what makes it a superior app, as few apps help with these essential reading skills. ### 5/5 — great app for blending segmenting and reading *2016-05-18* This app focuses on blending segmenting and reading CVC words. It teaches these advanced concepts in a clear and friendly way for young children. ### 5/5 — Solid Approaches to Learning to Read CVC Words *2016-02-17, version 6.4* This app focuses on CVC words. It separates the words by vowel categories. It uses letter sounds and helps children with the letter sound association.On a certain level, this app would be a clearer presentation if it only had the reading part. This app might be confusing to some, but it uses the two best approaches for building strong foundational reading skills-blending and segmenting. Experienced reading teachers know that these skills are very effective for building strong reading skills. This app does a good job of helping children practice those skills. It has been helping my students become better readers. It also helps my students reinforce their letter sound associations. At times it uses unfamiliar words, but it never asks the user to identify such a word without an accompanying picture. ### 5/5 — Perfect for children to learn reading the right way! *2015-03-17* This update is excellent, especially with the addition of great explainations of what blending and segmenting are and how important these are for building a firm foundation. Preschool U's apps are the only ones I found that actually teach children the proper way to learn to read. I love the updated interface and games. Keep up the good work!!! ### 5/5 — good *2013-01-03* This free version is very good tool fo help kids learn easily and in a fun way. The interface is a little bit dull but really worth trying! ### 5/5 — Jdubya300 *2013-01-03, version 4.5* Great app to help young kids read. This is a realy nice free version. ### 5/5 — Great app *2013-01-03* A great app for learning kids in a fun way with some awesome pictures and easy texts that give entertainment to them ### 5/5 — Need to be considered for all parent *2013-01-03* This app is quite a nice educational app. This is just a trial version. Although it's layout a bit dull, but it help children in their pronunciation skills. Price for upgrade version is quite reasonable too. ### 5/5 — Wonderful! *2013-01-03* The pictures really help with the learning process, the words are simple yet slightly challenging. The instructions are very clear and easy to get the hang of. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*